New Restaurant Coming to Del Ray

PHOTO of Monroe’s restaurant in Del Ray by M. Enriquez for Visit Alexandria; a new restaurant will be opening at the location after it closes.

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A trio with more than 50 years in the restaurant business plans to open a new restaurant called Common Table in Del Ray, eyeing a March opening, one of the partners, Jeremy Barber, said Friday.

The restaurant will be located at 1603 Commonwealth Ave., where Monroe’s is currently located. Monroe’s will be closing after Christmas Eve.

“We are excited and thrilled to be opening our first restaurant in Del Ray,” said Barber.

A second partner in the business is Tim Irwin. Many in Del Ray will remember Irwin from his time working at Evening Star Cafe. Barber and Irwin worked together at (now closed) Del Merei Grille and also at Eventide, where Barber was general manager and Irwin the bar manager, before it closed last fall in Clarendon. The trio is keeping the news about the third partner, the executive chef, under wraps for now.

The restaurant will be serving up cuisine inspired by Charleston, S.C., Barber said. The name of the restaurant, Common Table, is a play on “The Common House,” in Charleston.

An award-winning restaurant designer, Griz Dwight, will be renovating the restaurant, after Monroe’s closes. Dwight counts Founding Farmers Tysons, Fiola and Iron Gate among his high-profile restaurant design projects.

“Alexandria was always our first choice and we were lucky to find a great location here,” Barber said. “We would like to thank Mark and Laura Abraham for their help during this process. We would also like to congratulate Mark, Laura, the Abraham family, and the staff of Monroe’s on 19 years of business in the Alexandria community. We wish them luck in their future endeavors. We will have more announcements and details in the weeks to come.”

The Abrahams have posted messages on Facebook Friday to their customers about their restaurant closing, including a message to the new restaurant owners, wishing them well: ”We are glad that a new restaurant will re-open at the Monroe’s location, with experienced local ownership. We know that the new restaurant will earn and receive the support from the neighborhood that we have enjoyed.”