By Allison Michelli
After 20 years, City Tavern in Old Town Manassas is relocating, though only less than a mile from the original location.
Housed in the Olde Town Inn, City Tavern will move into the the former location of KC’s Restaurant, which has been closed for about 4 years. Olde Town Inn manager Gita Shingala (her husband Dharmesh Shingala is the owner of the building) says the City Tavern was coming up on the end of its 20 year lease, and with rent raised to reflect current market prices, City Tavern owner Pete Veltsistas decided to move the business.
Shingala is already considering offers from renters, and after renovations, she hopes to have a new restaurant in the space by the beginning of next year.
City Tavern’s move will bring only minor changes to the menu which will include the introduction of a wine list featuring bottles from Virginia. Veltsistas says the plan is to strip the entire inside of the new location and add more booth seating and a large banquet space for special events. They will be bringing much of the existing decor that is at the current location, but the overall goal is to make the space more contemporary.
Veltsistas and his two brothers, Tim and Nick, started City Tavern in June 1994 and have been in the restaurant business for over 30 years. Pete and Nick worked at their uncle, Cosmos Bell‘s, restaurant P.J. Skidoos in Fairfax while Tim worked at Yorkshire Market and Yorkshire Cafe in Manassas, also owned by Bells and his brother Larry. In 2007, the Veltsistas brothers bought the City Grill, formerly known as Pargos Restaurant in Manassas. They sold the business in 2009 in order to dedicate more time to the City Tavern.
The relocated City Tavern is expected to open by early December.
