After much anticipation, Addie’s Restaurant by Black Restaurant Group will open August 22 in Potomac, Maryland. Named for Jeff Black’s grandmother, the new Addie’s reimagines the best elements and family legacy of the original restaurant in a brand new space, offering novelty and nostalgia simultaneously.
First opened 22 years ago, Addie’s grew too big for the original space, and in 2013 closed with the intent to reopen when the time and space were right. Black found a home in Park Potomac, close in proximity to the restaurant’s most ardent fans.
The menu, created and overseen by Jeff Black, continues the theme of nostalgia and novelty with a combination of comfort food and boundary pushing dishes. As with all Black Restaurants, Addie’s is committed to sourcing fresh, sustainable and seasonal seafood all year round.
New menu items share space with beloved old ones like the Addie’s Mussels and the Addie’s Rolls, legacies of which persist as best selling items on other Black Restaurant menus.
Even the seafood tower is reinvented at Addie’s, granting guests the autonomy to compose a custom tower from more than 20 options of cold and hot seafood dishes including Black’s renowned raw oysters, tuna poke, butter poached lobster, king crab, ponzo marinated uni, caviar, Peruvian ceviche, scallop crudo, BBQ unagi, conch, head-on-prawns, caramel salmon belly and so much more. Ranging in size from a small tier of six items to a large selection of twelve, most items are included in a set price, with an option to add on specialty dishes for a supplemental charge.
Designed to feel as welcoming as Grandma Addie’s home, the entranceway, an airy foyer with accordion floor-to-ceiling windows that open to the sidewalk, receives guests before the interior splits into intimate rooms, each with its own purpose and feel. The abundance of seating options provide guests with yet more choice and customization, an homage to the celebrated hospitality of the restaurant’s namesake.
The dining room is the most formal of the spaces with crisp white tablecloths, thick cushioned chairs and plush carpeted floor. The neighboring family room provides a view of the kitchen through glass windows with antique panes. Lined in bookshelves, the décor in the den is richer than the other rooms and open to the 20-seat bar, complete with the modern convenience of electrical outlets at each seat. Continuing through the space, patrons will find yet another seating option: the six-seat oyster bar.
The patio, historically an important part of the Addie’s experience, faces the lush courtyard and bubbling fountain of Park Potomac. The windows between the indoor bar and outdoor patio open fully, allowing bartenders to serve guests on either side. Equipped with fans in the summer and heaters in the winter, the patio is partially covered, providing seats in the sun or the shade.
Addie’s interior invokes stately elegance of a bygone era without feeling dated. Small details pay homage to the original restaurant, such as the black and white photo of Hank Dietle’s Tavern, a longtime neighbor of the original Addie’s and a landmark when giving directions the old fashioned way, via phone.
As with the original, Addie’s will source food from local farms. In 1995, before the locavore movement, Black obtained local produce from a customer and friend, Brett Grohsgal, a former chef at Restaurant Nora’s and student of all things dirt. Now Brett owns and operates Even Star Organic Farms, which delivers to several of Black’s restaurants.
Equally known for the separate and extensive lunch menu, Addie’s will once again offer sandwiches and salads for the lunch seating Monday through Friday. In addition to weekday lunch, and dinner seven nights a week, the restaurant will offer brunch on Sundays. Valet parking will be available. Addie’s will take reservations.
Addie’s Restaurant team includes Black Restaurant Group veterans Executive Chef Dane Sewlall and General Manager Doug Doyle.
