Del Frisco’s envisions more Del Frisco’s Grilles, starting with Northern Virginia (Video)

Del Frisco’s CEO Mark Mednansky has been passing through D.C. quite a bit in recent weeks, and not just because his Dallas-based company is about to open the city’s swankiest new steakhouse, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle.

He’s also been looking at potential sites for new locations of Del Frisco’s Grille, the brand’s more casual spot that first entered the market in 2012 and will open a second location next week in Rockville’s Pike & Rose development.

Northern Virginia is top of mind. Mednansky has been touring space in Reston, Tysons Corner and Clarendon, and he’ll be back at it touring restaurant spaces Friday before Double Eagle officially opens.

As opposed to the high-end Double Eagle, which pulls from a larger geographic area, the Grille concept restaurants generally pull from a 5-mile radius. The company believes the D.C. area can sustain five or six Del Frisco’s Grille locations in total, Mednansky said.

The original Del Frisco’s Grille in the District helped Mednansky and company get a feel for the market, something they commonly do when they have a Double Eagle steakhouse on the horizon, according to the CEO. Double Eagle was the first restaurant to sign on for CityCenterDC more than six years ago, and it will likely be the only Double Eagle in the region.


Click here for more on Del Frisco’s design and luxury amenities.


Their conclusions about the D.C. clientele? For one, Double Eagle expects to cater to a younger demographic than it does at some of its other locations around the country. It appears the management team also recognized diners’ growing propensity to eat at the bar, something I’ve covered in the past. Much of the restaurant’s ground floor is devoted to more casual bar seating.

“People think of the bar at steak houses as somewhere you go for a drink before you sit down,” Mednansky said. “Here, we want it to be a place where you can just enjoy a little nosh and a cocktail.”

Lastly, Mednansky found D.C. likes its brown liquor. The bar’s bourbon and scotch whiskey selection dwarfs that at its other locations.

During an interview Wednesday, Mednansky was preparing to serve some of that brown liquor himself after the restaurant’s VIP opening party. It’s a Del Frisco’s tradition to lock the doors after the party ends and have the executive team get behind the bar to pour drinks for the 200-some employees on staff.

Then they all get one day off before go-time, in this case, the restaurant’s first dinner service on Friday.

This contains video. To view the video, please visit the original source.

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