Posted Tuesday, Nov. 29, 9:17 p.m. GW will house an American-style bistro – and possibly the only on-campus bar – in the vacant Quigley’s building at 21st and G streets after concluding an extensive search for a vendor, officials announced Tuesday night.
The bistro, called TONIC Restaurant, will be based off another TONIC located in Mount Pleasant in Northwest D.C.
TONIC plans to offer comfort foods – such as sloppy joe’s, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, vegetarian dishes, lox and bagels, gourmet pizza, omelets and pancakes, according to the release. It will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Tracy Schario, GW director of media relations, said the owners of the restaurant also plan to apply for a liquor license; the TONIC at Mount Pleasant offers a full bar open until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to its Web site. TONIC will accept Colonial Cash.
The renovation of Quigley’s, an 8,000 square-foot building, will begin in January 2006, and the restaurant is scheduled to open in January 2007.
While many menu items will be similar to the TONIC at Mount Pleasant, the TONIC at Quigley’s plans to create a d?cor that will capture the history of the building, which used to be a pharmacy. Some menu items may also be named after landmarks on campus.
The bistro also plans to show Colonials basketball games and would have wireless Internet access, a take-out counter, a private function room and outdoor seating.
“They will take a lot of things that work at TONIC at Mount Pleasant and apply them at the TONIC at Quigley’s,” Schario said in an interview Tuesday night, adding, however, that the she also expects the new restaurant to reflect the character of Foggy Bottom.
TONIC was chosen after hearing student input, and meets some of the goals University officials had pushed for in bringing a new establishment to Quigley’s, such as creating a sense of community and offering students comfort food, the release said.
“The primary goal for the dining venue at Quigley’s was a neighborhood caf?/bistro environment where there was affordable food; an inviting space to gather with friends for breakfast, meet with a professor, or have a study session; and a place welcoming to the GW community, as well as those who live and work in Foggy Bottom/West End,” Anne Dysart Vergiels, GW director of institutional real estate, said in a prepared statement. “TONIC has the potential to become the neighborhood gathering spot for GW and its neighbors.”
The proposal by co-founders of the TONIC in Mount Pleasant – Eric Bernstron, Ilias Nathanail and GW alumnus Jeremy Pollok – was one of 10 the University was considering for Quigley’s. While University officials would not release names of potential vendors during its search, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. confirmed that it was one of the contenders last month.
The lease agreement between the University and the TONIC co-founders is expected to be signed in the next few weeks.
