“We were all set to open last spring. I don’t know if you saw the news, but things got weird,” jokes Arlington native Nick Freshman. A sense of humor is in order when braving a pandemic. Doubly so when it comes to opening a restaurant a year late because of it. But Freshman, the principal behind Mothersauce Partners, the company that helped launch DMV restaurants including Thompson Italian, says that he was lucky to be able to delay opening The Freshman until this April.
“For a minute, we kicked around opening in the summer or fall, but I knew winter was coming,” Freshman says forebodingly. In the meantime, The Freshman ran a popular pop-up to whet appetites for its arrival. More recently, The Freshman’s space has been a pickup location for struggling hospitality workers to get meal kits and everyday supplies in partnership with Hook Hall.
But this spring, the time will finally come for the The Freshman to open as originally intended, as an all-day cafe. “The goal with our space is to be exactly what the customer wants whatever point they are in their day,” explains Freshman. That means high quality coffee early in the morning, all the way to cocktails and draft beer at night. And that’s just the drinks. Freshman and Mothersauce Partners chef Adam Stein are working on the bones of a menu that will be filled out when they soon hire a chef. “It’s going to be a menu that’s familiar and classic with something new to try,” Freshman says. He hints that it will include “well-thought-out, composed dishes” such as a classic omelet and half roasted chicken. Vegan options will also be an important component of the menu. And even before the pandemic hit, food that travels well was part of the plan.
The dynamic space, will draw guests throughout the day, but a certain upcoming helix-shaped building will guarantee The Freshman a booming business. “We like to say that the announcement of Amazon was the second biggest announcement in National Landing,” says Freshman. And luckily, we’ll be seeing the new restaurant sooner. // 2102 Crystal Dr., Arlington
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