The only thing better than a great Mexican restaurant is a great Mexican restaurant helmed by a tried-and-true hospitality group. Knead Hospitality + Design is bringing precisely that to Virginia Beach with Mi Vida, a modern take on traditional Mexican cuisine.
Knead’s founder Jason Berry generously carved out some time to tell What Now DC about bringing the restaurant to Pharrell Williams’ Atlantic Park development and why, precisely, he feels the concept and the mixed-use center will be a perfect match. “We felt really strongly that we would be successful there. It checks a lot of boxes for us-it’s a new development and that in itself will attract traffic and visitors. It’s a neighborhood that’s centrally located. We do best in mixed-use developments…when there’s a lot of different types of people that come…you’re never relying on only one demographic to fill your restaurant.”
Berry explains that while Knead wasn’t actively intending to develop a new Mi Vida, the opportunity was too good to pass up, owing to the vibrant nature of Atlantic Park-and Virginia Beach at large. “It has a destination feel-it’s the 14th most visited tourist destination in this country. It has the Wave Garden, which is great, it’s the only one in North America, which will draw a lot of visitors. Live Nation Concert Hall is next door and that will attract well known acts. There’s the retail, the other restaurants, the hotel coming up in the next year or two, and all the tourism and the locals. We’re really excited about it.”
He adds that while there is certainly a lot of superior dining in the area and some appealing Mexican options, there are no concepts similar to Mi Vida, which will appeal to local foodies. “There’s a lot of great restaurants, but there’s nothing there that does what we do, which is high-design, lifestyle restaurants. We feel like we are able to offer something that doesn’t exist. If there were 10 great Mexican restaurants in the area, we wouldn’t be doing that there.”
Mi Vida will be occupying a 9,000 square foot space in a 2-level building with a patio and a balcony patio, and 2 private rooms.
Berry states that in preparation for the Virginia Beach location, Knead has updated the DC menu, which is the one they intend to implement at the new restaurant. He explains: “We’ve updated 27 menu items and changed the format of our menu in DC, and that’s what we’re hoping to open Virginia Beach with”
Construction is well underway and Berry anticipates a mid-October opening.
