Rendering of The Mill Restaurant
More details have recently been unveiled about the cafe and market going in at the 10 Duke Street warehouse building.
Alexandrian Murray Bonnitt, a custom builder who specializes in historic preservation, is renovating the building, which served as a Civil War mess hall.
Dubbed The Mill, it is part of the Robinson Landing development on Old Town Alexandria's waterfront. The building will house a basement short-order grill, casual fare on the first floor and more elevated fare on the second floor. It will seat 187 inside and 52 outside.
Alexandria Living Magazine
The historic building at the foot of Duke Street will be renovated by historic preservation specialists Bonitt Builders.
The first floor will have a tavern feel, serving Virginia craft beers and casual fare such as Maryland-style crab cake sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches, chicken salad, clam chowder, egg salad, fried green tomatoes, veggie lasagna, gumbo, oyster stew, oyster po' boys and smoked polish sausage. The tavern will feature reclaimed original brick walls, handmade table tops, bar tops and wall cladding from original beams. Windows facing the water will tilt in, to bring in the sounds and scent of the waterfront.
The rear of the first floor will feature a market offering fresh beignets, breakfast sandwiches, croissants and pastries in the mornings along with grab 'n go coffee. The market will also offer boxed lunches, "heat and eat" meals and a selection of beers and wines as well as assorted snacks.
Diners are in for a treat heading up to the second floor, where there will be seating inside and outside. Couch seating around an indoor fireplace will create a warm, casual space in the colder months. The menu for upstairs is a bit more elevated than downstairs and will include fried chicken, grilled sea bass, Italian sausage over handmade pasta, BBQ shrimp over cheese grits, seared marinated swordfish, dry-aged ribeye steaks and smoke beef tenderloin.
The basement-level eatery will feature a short-order grill where you can enjoy burgers, lobster and crab corndogs, curly fries, BBQ brisket sandwiches, fried bologna sliders and shrimp baskets. The space will also feature a pool table and jukebox.
Plans call for the market to be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
EYA announced the renovation of the building and restaurant and market concept earlier this year: “We are thrilled to announce that Robinson Landing’s 10 Duke Street warehouse building will be renovated to operate a market and restaurant by Alexandria’s Murray Bonitt, a custom builder who specializes in historic preservation through adaptive re-use,” said Evan Goldman, vice president, EYA LLC. “This fulfills our plans for commercial space at Robinson Landing and further delivers on the city’s vision to develop and activate the southern anchor of Old Town’s waterfront.”
Through its affiliated entity 2 Duke LLC, EYA will sell the 10 Duke Street warehouse (also known as 2 Duke St.) to Bonitt Builders.
Read more about the history of the building from the City here. The restaurant and market plans go before the City Planning Commission Nov. 7.
