Michel Richard Plans to Move His Home Base to Tysons Corner

Richard: NoVa bound

Note: This story was updated on 4:36 p.m. Monday.

The rumors appear to be true: Michel Richard, the city’s most celebrated chef, will shift his “home” base to the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, where he will open a new, fine-dining restaurant in the former Maestro space. It’s not clear yet what the move could mean for Citronelle, Richard’s current home at the Latham Hotel and one of D.C.’s most-honored restaurants, and whether the chef would abandon the spot completely.

Michel Richard Restaurants mailed a packet of information to potential investors last week, seeking nearly $2 million to develop the 5,000-square-foot, 110-seat restaurant inside the Ritz. The celebrity chef, according to the document,  “plans to enter into a 10-year primary lease on or about April 30, 2009″ for the dining space made famous by chef Fabio Trabocchi, who left Maestro in September 2007. The restaurant has been dark since then.

“Citronelle is not closing…Michel’s offices are still there, his kitchen that he loves is still there, and business is going on as usual,” says Mel Davis, PR coordinator for Richard. “I have to reiterate, there are no plans to move or close Citronelle from the Latham hotel.”

Mark Sherwin, general manager for the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, emphasized that no contract has been signed for the Maestro space. “We continue to talk to a number of high-profile chefs,” Sherwin said. The Ritz has narrowed the list down to three different groups, the GM added, but Sherwin wasn’t at liberty to name any of them.

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