Mancini's Cafe + Bakery to Close, But New Plans Afoot

Mancini’s Cafe & Bakery, a Del Ray institution located at 1508 Mount Vernon Ave., will be closing in about a week, according to owner Barbara Mancini.

But two culinary stars have big plans for the space, according to documents filed with the City planning office.

Closing Mancini’s is obviously bittersweet for Mancini and she announced the big change in a note Tuesday afternoon to customers on the restaurant’s Facebook page:

A Heartfelt Letter to My Customers,

After nearly 20 years at this location in Alexandria, and 25 years in business, I am retiring. Mancinis Cafe will be closing, and I will lease out my building. I was hoping to have more time to say our goodbyes, but the city has sped up my timeline.

I have loved every minute of working at Mancinis. I love to bake, I love to cook, I love to decorate the shop.

But with the passing of my two brothers and my hip operation in February, I had to take a close look at my life and choose what decisions had to be made to fulfill new dreams of mine. Freeing up my time was number 1 on my list.

We should be open for a week or so, after that, by chance while we clear away, clean up and make room for a new venture coming to Del Ray.

I could not have done this without the vision of my late husband Bob, without countless hours from George, my accountant, without Linda Delort, who joyfully joined us at our Eisenhower location, without Lee Braun and Mike Feinberg in the early years, without my past and current, dedicated employees, Wilson, Joel, Jose, Elizabeth, Angel, Rowena, Thelma, Carmen, Pam and John. To my family and friends who have always jumped in when I needed help or a shoulder, I thank all of you.

I especially would like to thank my customers whom I tried to serve as best I could, my catering clients, my wholesale accounts, my cooking class students. It’s been a ride. A bumpy, fun filled, thrilling one. But it’s time to get off this roller coaster and try a new ride. I’m not going anywhere, I still live in the hood, and you can still contact me.

And then there were two.

All the best, all my love, it’s been a pleasure.

Barbara Mancini

The location will live on, with plans for a new restaurant afoot by owners Noe Landini and Nathan Hatfield. Noe Landini is an owner (and his father was a founder, with his brother), of Landini Brothers restaurant on King Street in Old Town. (Noe Landini also owns The Fish Market and recently opened Bar Deco in Washington, D.C.)

Hatfield is a baker with a background at the award-winning Restaurant Eve, its cousin Society Fair and at Le Diplomate.

The name of the new restaurant will be Baker’s Bread. It will continue to operate as a restaurant (and obviously have a much bigger emphasis on bread baking).

There will be interior renovations in the space, predominantly new finishes and furniture, according to the application. The applicant will be providing a new bread oven, new cook line hood, dishwasher hood and all new necessary equipment required for the bakery and restaurant operations.

No word yet on an opening date for the new venture.

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