Two top chefs are sweeping into Whaley’s to open their first restaurant early next year. The Navy Yard seafood spot in announced on Wednesday that it will serve its last supper this Sunday.
“We are excited to share that we are passing the reins at Whaley’s to our good friends and chefs Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan, who are embarking on their first solo project after leaving critically acclaimed Maydan,” the Whaley’s team wrote in a statement on social media.
Cousins Nick and David Wiseman opened Whaley’s in May 2016, and it gained attention for its colorful, riviera-inspired interior and colossal seafood towers. We named it one of our best new restaurants of the year in 2016. Whaley’s also hopped onto the rosé trend with great effect in 2017 by opening a rosé garden, where patrons could sip wine and frozen drinks beneath pink parasols. Nick Wiseman told Eater that the closure of the restaurant comes as their recently opened Little Sesame locations have become “a full-time commitment.” He adds that the duo is planning to open “a few more” in 2020.
Addison and Morgan will leave Middle Eastern restaurant Maydan, where they served as head chefs since its opening in 2016. Bluejacket chef Marcelle Afram will take over as head chef of Maydan and its sister restaurant, Compass Rose, Washington City Paper reported earlier this month.
At Maydan, the chefs served Middle Eastern fare like tabbouleh, saffron lamb, sweet muhammara, and soft flatbreads over a live fire. Maydan made it onto best new restaurant lists from Eater, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit. The restaurant was also a James Beard finalist for best new restaurant in 2018, and the chefs were named rising culinary stars of the year at the RAMMY Awards. Michelin granted Maydan its first star earlier this fall.
A representative for the chefs declined to share information about the new restaurant. But the duo left some clues about their restaurant with Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema earlier this month.
Their restaurant, which will seat fewer than 100 patrons, will be “something the city doesn’t have,” Morgan told the critic. Addison added that the food will be something they’ve never done before in a professional setting but have experimented with on their own—and that there will be no live fire element.
The chefs will receive the keys to their new restaurant January 1.
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