A new restaurant that combines Southern cooking and French cuisine is expected to open in Chevy Chase, D.C., on May 10.
Macon Bistro & Larder is the concept of chef/owner Tony Brown who operated three quick-service Cal-Mex restaurants in Washington, D.C., before selling them about 10 years ago. Since then, the Chevy Chase resident has worked as a technology consultant.
The restaurant will fill an empty space at the Chevy Chase Arcade, 5520 Connecticut Ave.
Announced menu items include grilled mountain trout with pecan persillade, boiled peanuts, braised short ribs, Macon fried chicken, and seared scallops on butter bean mash. Brown hired D.C. area chef Michael Matis to head up the kitchen at Macon. Matis, who most recently was the sous chef at Yardbird in Miami, previously worked at CityZen and Citronelle in D.C.
The restaurant also will sell prepared foods such as homemade caramels, cured pickles, and biscuits. The drink menu will include craft beers, cocktails and a focused French wine list.
In March, Brown started a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help him finish construction of the restaurant. The campaign raised $30,750.
“Our goal is to provide the warm, friendly atmosphere of a locally owned neighborhood place, and the fresh, quality cuisine of an award-winning restaurant,” Brown wrote on the Kickstarter page. “The soaring windows of the historic arcade building allow diners to look onto Connecticut Avenue, where the sidewalk will provide more seating in the warm months.”
Brown, who grew up in Macon, Ga., named the restaurant after his hometown and its sister city, Macon, France.