DC’s Mexican Hotspot Mi Vida to Open New Location in Penn Quarter
By Chava Gourarie April 13, 2023 4:26 pm
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Modern Mexican restaurant Mi Vida will open its third and largest location in Penn Quarter later this month, in the space formerly occupied by Rosa Mexicano at Terrell Place in Washington, D.C.
Helmed by Mexico City native and celebrity chef Roberto Santibañez, Mi Vida’s two other locations are hotspots for modern Mexican cuisine, according to Eater. Santibañez is the culinary director for D.C.-based restaurant group Knead Hospitality + Design.
The 10,000-square-foot Penn Quarter location, just across from the Capital One Arena, can seat more than 350 people and will include a variety of dining spaces, including private and semi-private spaces, as well as a sidewalk patio.
Terrell Place is a restored mixed-use building at 575 Seventh Street NW owned by Beacon Capital Partners. The 425,000-square-foot building is home to Facebook, Convene and Five Iron Golf, among others. The Boston-based Beacon completed a $48 million repositioning of the property in 2019, then put it on the market, but ended up recapitalizing instead, the Washington Business Journal reported. In 2020, the AARP sold its four-story condo at the 11-story building to Beacon for $70 million, which gave the company full control of the property.
The Mi Vida brand was birthed at The Wharf, where its flagship opened in 2018. That was followed by a Logan Circle location that opened in August 2022 in a transformed three-story 1900s-era building at 1901 14th Street. The expansive corner space, wrapped in a dramatically painted facade, houses two bars featuring over 100 tequila and mezcal varieties, a private event space, and a funky interior design that includes colorful wall murals, a 26-foot indoor tree and hand-painted Oaxacan flowers.
Mi Vida’s 14th Street makeover was not Knead’s first such endeavor. The restaurant group is behind the transformation of the Equitable Bank Building into Succotash Penn Quarter, as well as several other D.C. brands: Gatby, miCasa, tuTaco and Du Jour.
The newest venue is scheduled to open April 27. Knead did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chava Gourarie can be reached at cgourarie@commercialobserver.com.
