Palette 22 Prepares for Monday Opening in Arlington

PHOTOS: Artist Lizzy Lunday of Reston pauses for a photo while creating a portrait Wednesday at Palette 22; Palette 22 Art Director Cara Leepson is responsible for creating the art program at the restaurant; Palette 22 exterior Wednesday; Lunday working on an oil portrait; artwork by local artists will on display and be for sale at Palette 22; Tacos Vampiros at Palette 22; the flatbread pizza is created using a Marra Forni oven; the bar is to the left of the entrance to Palette 22; the Marra Forni oven is part of the open kitchen concept at the restaurant. Patch photos

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ARLINGTON, VA -- There’s a flurry of activity Wednesday at Palette 22, the new restaurant opening in a prime corner spot in Shirlington Village, across from the newly renovated movie theater.

Against a backdrop of murals and artwork hanging on the walls, workmen outside are putting up awnings and signs, new employees are being trained throughout the restaurant and painter Lizzy Lunday of Reston is busy working on a portrait in one of two locations in the restaurant set aside especially for working artists.

The restaurant sets itself apart by not only displaying and selling works by local artists but by hosting local artists at the restaurant. Diners will be encouraged to stop and chat and can even purchase artwork, created by local artists (within a 90-mile radius of the area). Making it all work is the job of the restaurant’s art director, Cara Leepson, a Middleburg native with a graduate degree in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University.

Her job is to bring artists to Palette 22 who will create their art at the restaurant; during an open call for artists, she culled 50 entries down to 14. The artists are encouraged to talk to any patrons who might stop by to chat with them about their artwork; all artwork will also be for sale and customers are encouraged to ask their servers about the art and can even add purchases to their bill.

“We’re bringing art to an accessible level,” Leepson said Wednesday during preparations for Monday’s opening.

Hand in hand with the artistic vibe is a creative menu at Palette 22. Graham Duncan, the corporate executive chef at Palette 22 owner Alexandria Restaurant Partners, is overseeing the globally inspired street food menu. (Antonio Burrell is executive chef and Kelvin Flores is executive sous chef at Palette 22’s very open kitchen.) The small plates lunch menu features such items as Tacos Vampiros featuring skirt steak, serrano rajas, avocado, chipotle salsa and queso cotija; Wild Mushroom flatbread pizza (baked in the Marra Forni oven) and Churros served with Mexican hot chocolate and strawberries, from the dessert menu. See more of the menu here.

“It’s all about sharing,” said Duncan, who first got his start in the restaurant world when he was 13 years old, helping with chores at a local diner in his hometown of West Palm Beach, Fla. He began his culinary journey at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach and went on to work at O Bar in Palm Beach and from there to restaurants in Atlanta including City Grill and Sala Sabor de Mexico.

Duncan’s impressive resume also includes helping launch the wildly successful Founding Farmers concept in the DC area. Duncan now oversees several restaurants for Alexandria Restaurant Partners, including Lena’s Wood-Fired Grill, Majestic Cafe, Virtue Feed & Grain and other restaurants the company’s partners own in Florida and Georgia.

The company’s next big project here will be the former Waterfront Market in Old Town Alexandria, currently being renovated and expected to open in May.

But for now, all eyes are on Palette 22 and its opening Monday. The restaurant, located at 4053 Campbell Ave. in Shirlington Village, will be open for lunch and dinner and starting next weekend, brunch as well.