‘Top Chef’ Judge Tom Colicchio Will Open a Huge Restaurant in Penn Quarter Next Year

James Beard Award-winning chef Tom Colicchio will open his first full-service restaurant in D.C. at Market Square next year, per a press release from the landlord on Tuesday, September 27.

The NYC culinary mogul’s new 10,000-square-foot restaurant in Penn Quarter (701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) will take over the old ground-floor home of 701 Restaurant, Ashok Bajaj’s white-tablecloth power spot that went dark in 2018 after nearly three decades. INC Architecture & Design, the same New York studio behind D.C.’s Line Hotel, will handle the look. Market Square is operated by EQ Office in partnership with Columbia Property Trust.

The co-host of Bravo’s Top Chef and owner of Crafted Hospitality is best known for Craft, his fine-dining American mainstay in the Flatiron District since 2001. He also operates another Craft in Los Angeles and other restaurants like Tom Colicchio’s Heritage Steak and Craftsteak in Las Vegas. It’s unclear what the name and cuisine will be in D.C., but it could be a brand new venture for Colicchio.

“We are thrilled that Tom has found a permanent home for his new culinary experience at Market Square,” says EQ Office director of portfolio management Scott Silverstein, in a statement.

Eater reached out to Crafted Hospitality for further comment.

Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Colicchio will have lots of Fortune 500 tenants to feed (30 to be exact) at Market Square, which is comprised of two towers encircling the U.S. Navy Memorial and a 9,000-square-foot scenic rooftop.

Colicchio planted brick-and-mortar roots in D.C. last year with the opening of fast-casual Root & Sprig at Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus.

The chef also upped his face time here in the past year. This spring, he cooked for big-ticketed guests at the Preakness and was a celebrity judge at D.C. Central Kitchen’s 18th annual Capital Food Fight at The Anthem. And while Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal headlined the on-court action at CitiOpen last year, Colicchio served Root & Sprig’s veggie bowls out of a turf-lined tent (ironically called) Market Square.

Colicchio already has a big-name friend to welcome him to the Northwest neighborhood: José Andrés, whose cluster of D.C. restaurants surround Capital One Arena.

Penn Quarter appears to be a top destination for famous food TV personalities as of late. Flashy chef Guy Fieri reserved a slot inside Caesars Sportsbook for his own first full-service D.C. restaurant. Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer (Taffer’s Tavern) planted a flag in the tourist-heavy area this summer, and boisterous British chef Gordon Ramsay (Street Pizza) is right on his heels.