The husband-and-wife team of Jordan and Jonathan Stahl are readying to open their first restaurant in the former Rustik space in Bloomingdale. Tyber Creek Wine Bar & Kitchen opens May 4 and is named after a tributary of the Potomac that now flows under D.C.
Jordan most recently worked at Living Social but has a background in marketing with a focus on wine and once worked at Blenheim Vineyards in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jonathan has been with the Washington Nationals for about a decade. His background is in hospitality, and he started in food and beverage for the team but is now in operations.
Tyber Creek calls itself a wine bar, but it will have a full-service kitchen helmed by Chef Kerry Tate, formerly of The Heights. He’ll call on Rustik’s wood-fired pizza oven to roast meat and vegetables. Jordan is most excited about the roasted chicken that’s served over panzanella salad.
“Roast chicken is underrated in general, but the wood oven gets the skin crispy and keeps the chicken moist,” she says. Other highlights include a flatbread featuring wood-roasted lamb shoulder and a bouillabaisse with tomato fennel broth.
To pair, Jordan’s been curating a wine list full of some of her favorite things to drink. “We hope to have a lot of regulars, and we want to introduce people to new varietals, natural wine, amber wine,” she says. She’s also looking forward to pouring a white Tempranillo and a red wine from Blenheim where she worked.
Wines by the glass will be in the $8-$12 range, while the majority of bottles will cost between $30 and $50. Two wines will be offered on tap, and Jordan’s toying with the idea of doing bottomless rosé for brunch. You can bring your friend who hates wine despite your best efforts because there will also be cocktails featuring local spirits as well as six regional beers on draft.
The Tyber Creek space, with 45 indoor seats and 45 patio seats, will still be recognizable to Rustik regulars but the Stahls gave it a sleek facelift with a new floor, fresh lighting, and other touches like a live wall from Holley Simmons of Sill Life. “I’m a more is more person, so it was hard for me to cull it down and keep it clean,” Jordan says. “I want the color to come from the bottles, the food, and the people. I wanted the backdrop to be more neutral.”
Jordan’s mom, a passionate gardener and recent retiree, has been coming to the restaurant almost daily to spruce up the patio, which will be dog-friendly. (Tate is even trying his hand at baking dog treats in the wood-fired oven.)
Tyber Creek will serve dinner Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to close (they’re going to let the neighborhood dictate how late they stay open), and on weekends they’ll open at 11 a.m. for brunch and stay open through dinner. Down the line, Tyber Creek may open during the day on weekdays. Reservations will be accepted on RESY.
Tyber Creek Wine Bar & Kitchen, 84 T St. NW; tybercreekdc.com