An exciting new culinary contender is preparing to help DC end 2025-and begin a beautiful dining relationship-with a bang. Helmed by Brandon Thordarson-a man with a strong connection to the brand-Moxies will be making its District debut before the year is out.
The restaurant will be occupying an 8,000 square foot space at 1111 20th Street NW. Brandon Thordarson kindly set aside some time to speak to What Now DC about the appeal of bringing Moxies to DC, both personally and professionally. He explains “I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, so it’s sort of a straight down shot to DC. I haven’t lived on the east side of the continent since the 90s. Driving down from Toronto to Florida and passing through the area..I always liked the area. DC itself is such a vibrant city, a melting pot of culture-it’s just a really cool, clean, fun city, if I could be there and close to my family and friends, I was ready to do that.”
Moxies is in good hands for its DC entrance; franchisee Thordarson has a long history and profound understanding of the brand. He served as the Culinary Director and Executive Chef before transitioning to operating his own location. He is looking forward to this next chapter, stating “I worked for Moxie for almost 14 years and when you’re in a company for that long you start to wonder, career-wise, what your direction is. I can continue to elevate this brand or look into the franchise side of the business and after knowing that community quite well, it was something I was interested in pursuing.”
Moxies’ DC home will serve as an evolutionary step for the brand; Thordarson explains that while, initially, it won’t deviate from other locations, he intends to use it to push the chain forward. “For the most part we’re a brand so we’re going to take on that brand mentality…My goal with this location, because of my background, I want it to be a test location for the brand and be a test store for trying new items and concepts. To start we need to get the doors open and have people love us, and once we’re successful we’ll be a test kitchen for the brand. The goal is to be a new leader.”
DC foodies won’t have to wait too much longer to try Moxies’ cuisine; Thordarson is optimistic for a late November or early December opening.
While Thordarson believes that ultimately the DMV could house multiple Moxies locations, he is focused on ensuring this inaugural DC spot is a success. The new District resident has a vested interest in the business succeeding, both as a franchisee and as a member of the community. He sums it up beautifully, saying: “Personally, I’ve brought my family here, it’s such an amazing city-it reminds me a bit of Montreal. The people are friendly and I’m happy to have my family live here. We’re excited to get this location open so people can see what Moxies is all about and fall in love with it.”
