Hospitality is the family business for Keystone Hospitality. The group has established itself through its concepts Urban Roast and ZOOZ Cocktail Garden, but now it is ready to expand its brand with a new and ambitious chapter. Helmed by Promod Sharma, Jyoti Mahajan, Joseph Azzouz, Kamal Azzouz, Anthony Azzouz, Isa Azzouz, Keystone is growing its dining legacy with a surf and turf restaurant called Chandelier-its biggest project to date, reports the Washington Business Journal.
The sprawling and elegant concept is taking over the 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW space that previously housed Del Frisco’s. Keystone Hospitality members Jyoti Mahajan and Joseph Azzouz generously set aside some time to speak to What Now DC about the vision behind Chandelier and what the restaurant will bring to the DMV dining scene.
Azzouz explains that while the eatery is new, the idea is not. He states: “Our business partner a few years ago had a vision of creating a restaurant called ‘Chandelier’ and making it glorious and one of a kind. We wanted to bring something really special from the decor to the food service to the cocktails and we waited for the right location to be available.”
The right location, in this instance, means a well-traveled area, with plenty of businesses and visitors. Azzouz says: “PA Avenue is one of the busiest streets in all of DC. It has some of the most popular restaurants in DC. We love being around successful businesses. It’s very central in DC, very close to landmarks- a perfect location for what we’re bringing for Chandelier.”
Azzouz explains that Keystone plans to create an immersive, elegant, and wholly unique experience with Chandelier’s memorable decor. Of course the titular light fixture will play a prominent role. Azzouz describes what else is in store, saying “Our vision is one of a kind…we’re having a waterfall fire feature in the main dining room…it will have more of a modern luxurious vibe like you get in Dubai or London or New York. There will be marble walls in the private room, mosaic tiles on the bar, a lot of gold and maroon booths.’
Mahajan adds: “Our bar is pretty huge; we can accommodate up to 50 people. The aesthetics are very important for us. We want to bring the best in DC. We want to bring something that no one has ever seen. We’ve travelled to multiple countries over the years and collected ideas from multiple places and everywhere we go we think about what we can bring back.”
Keystone Hospitality has selected the executive chef who will craft delicious cuisine to complement the luxurious atmosphere. Azzouz offers an overview of the fare as: “Our broad menu direction is premiere steaks and seafoods. We’ll have a seafood display up on the second floor, fresh catches of the day from around the world. Customers who want fresh seafood will go up, pick the seafood they’d like, and how they’d like it cooked.”
He adds that the group is currently touring steak farms to ensure the turf part of the surf and turf is the best on the market.
Chandelier will be able to seat around 400 customers. Future patrons attempting to visualize what lies in store, rest easy-Azzouz has you covered. He offers this vivid description: “The 2nd floor is about 6 steps up to the right. On the left side of the waterfall there will be a large family table. There’s an open-faced kitchen up there. We’ll have an oval shaped bar with a 20 foot wide chandelier hanging above it…A private dining room, fully private. We’re building marble walls inside of it. It will have its own mini bar, its own custom chandelier. We’ll have a patio that can seat about 80 guests as well.”
Mahajan mentions that the rooftop will be available for select groups and events. She states: “ The rooftop can accommodate 200-250 people. It will be held for private events, not open on a day-to-day basis.”
She adds that guests won’t need to stress about parking or privacy- “Valet service will be available all the time. We’ll have private access for privacy seeking clientele.”
DC foodies will be able to experience this exciting new dining frontier in the relatively near future. Demo and construction have begun and Keystone anticipates Chandelier being customer-ready by mid-summer.
