ALEXANDRIA: Burtons Grill & Bar To Open This March

Founder, President and CEO Kevin Harron has announced the March 2016 opening of Burtons Grill & Bar, an upscale-casual restaurant featuring contemporary American cuisine.  Located within the Hilltop Village Center at Telegraph Road and Beulah Street in Alexandria, Burtons Grill & Bar hopes to be a welcome addition to the Northern Virginia community.  Neimitz Design Group is responsible for designing the 6,200-square-foot space, which will open for lunch and dinner and debut weekend brunch in the coming weeks.  The restaurant will have a 200 total seating capacity including 168 dining room seats and 32 seats at the bar.  An outdoor patio complete with fire table will also be available during the spring and summer months (weather permitting) and can accommodate an additional 50 guests.  

Committed to using only the freshest ingredients showcasing creative cooking techniques, Burtons Grill & Bar is also a leader in allergy awareness as the restaurant continues to develop menus that provide exceptional dining experiences for all guests.  The restaurant will showcase vegetarian & gluten sensitive menus, and its "Choosy kids" menu uses the USDA’s newest guidelines for nutrition.  This affords parents the opportunity to choose from a list of ingredients and cooking methods when preparing their child’s menu.

 “We have always believed in the strength of the metro DC market,” says Founder, President and CEO Kevin Harron of Burtons Grill & Bar.  “Finding locations has been a challenge, but we will open two locations in Northern Virginia this year. Our business model has always been simple ‘be best in class’. Which means we need to consistently meet or exceed our guest expectations for the overall dining experience. Taking care of guests who have special needs or diets just feels right to us. We are delighted to be here.”

Burtons Grill & Bar’s Vice President of Operations Denise Baron Herrera has tapped Dylyn Coolidge to serve as executive chef at Burtons Grill & Bar in Alexandria.  A native of Burlington, Vermont, Coolidge began his culinary career working as a junior sous chef at Coyote Cafe under James Beard award-winning chefs Mark Kiffin and Mark Miller in 1994.  He has cooked at five-diamond hotels such as the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona and worked with James Beard award-winning chef Todd English’s Kingfish Restaurant.  In December 2008, he become head chef at Commissary, a DC neighborhood café focused on seasonal, local, all natural American comfort food, part of the Eatwell DC Restaurant group, which includes a thirteen acre naturally raised fruit and vegetable farm in La Plata, Maryland.  Then in April 2011, Coolidge moved to become executive chef at the Beacon Hotel, overseeing the culinary program for their food and beverage outlets the Beacon Bar and Grill, and the rooftop Sky Bar, as well as their banquet operations. Accolades include being ranked among Open Table’s Top DC Brunches from 2011 to 2013, and The Blade’s Top Brunch in 2012. In September 2015, he accepted the position of executive chef to open Burtons Grill & Bar in Alexandria.

Kevin Harron collaborated with Neimitz Design Group to design the space, which is centered around a 32-seat island bar made of stone and wood.  The restaurant offers an open floor plan offering visibility into the exhibition kitchen from every seat in the house.

Design elements include natural, dark-stained oak floors, rich walnut walls, a granite bar top, and man made materials such as glazed brick columns, plush carpeting, and encaustic tile.  The color scheme incorporates rich deep browns and blues, accented by lighter shades of taupe.  The seating is a combination of low, lush, lounge furniture, backed upholstered bar-stools, and communal high-top seating.  The dining room exhibits classic fully upholstered chairs and tufted fixed seating.  The lighting drops down from a fully exposed ceiling emphasizing the grand height of the space.  Each area of the restaurant has unique lighting with over-sized dome lights over the communal tables and handsome brass table lamps reminiscent of the 1930's throughout the bar.  The artwork chosen for the restaurant is a mix of contemporary and iconic imagery, exhibited through photography and abstract fine art and hung "salon style".

Burtons Grill & Bar is located within the Hilltop Village Center at Telegraph Road and Beulah Street in Alexandria, Virginia, 22315.  Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For reservations or additional information, please call (703) 922-1730 or visit www.burtonsgrill.com.