Joe Palma Leaving Bourbon Steak to Lead Isabella Eatery

Joe Palma is leaving Bourbon Steak on June 11 to join Mike Isabella Concepts as culinary director of Isabella Eatery, the 41,000-square-foot food hall scheduled to debut at Tysons Galleria this fall.

According to a release, celebrity chef and restaurateur Mike Isabella recruited to Palma to help with menu development, handle hiring, and run the commissary kitchen expected to feed the various hospitality projects expected to operate within the experimental dining hub. “It's very exciting to be able to do this while introducing such a new, immersive, and dynamic dining experience to the D.C. and Northern Virginia food scene,” is how Palma addressed the career change in a prepared statement.

Palma has served as executive chef of Bourbon Steak since May 2014. He’s also worked locally at Westend Bistro, the since shuttered Citronelle, and at the defunct Le Paradou.

The June separation date means Palma should get to complete the first phase (aged 45 days) of the bourbon-brushed ribeye project he developed for Bourbon Steak, but he’ll miss out on trying batch two (aged 90 days).