Liquor License for Celebrity Chef Cedric Maupillier at City Market at O

At its regular monthly meeting September 2, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw unanimously endorsed the request for a restaurant-category liquor license for Convival, the new restaurant by celebrity chef Cedric Maupillier. The restaurant will open at City Market at O, at the corner of 8th and O Streets NW)

City Market at O (image credit below)

Restaurateur and co-owner Saied Azali appeared before ANC6E to support the request.

Azali told ANC6E Maupillier was a long-time fixture on the DC restaurant scene, working first at Central (1001 Pennsylvania Avenue) and the now-closed Citronelle. Azali and Maupillier are currently co-owners of the highly-praised Mintwood (1813 Columbia Road). In 2013, Maupillier was nominated Best New Chef by Food and Wine Magazine and also won a James Beard Award.

Azali told the ANC that one-quarter of the area of the restaurant will be devoted to the kitchen and "the emphasis is on food", including affordable "health food" (including vegan) and "portion control". The restaurant will have an outdoor serving area.

Azali said Convival will be the first restaurant that Maupillier owns, although online information says that Maupillier co-owns Mintwood with Azali.

ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (Commissioner for district 01) said a standard settlement agreement for the area had been negotiated with the owners of Convival. This included standard stipulations for the outdoor area, i.e., that there would be no music played and outdoor service would end at midnight.

The restaurant will be Padro's ANC district.

Azali also said there would be underground parking below the nearby Giant supermarket for clients with cars, but the restaurant wish to be primarily a neighborhood place that people could walk to.

"Neighbors are the most important thing for us," Azali said.

Convival has previously been reported on by Washingtonian magazine and blog BadWolf DC.

The liquor-license request will now move on to DC's Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) for final approval.

(image credit: citymarketato.blogspot.com, image marked as "labelled for reuse" on Google Image search)