The story of The Square is one of a brotherhood forged in kitchens. The splashy, 25,000-square-foot food hall that recently opened on K Street NW is powered by co-founders Richie Brandenburg and Rubén García, who met in 2008 while working for José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup (now the José Andrés Group). Garcia had already been with the company for four years–after stints at a series of Michelin-starred kitchens in Europe, including five years at El Bulli under Ferran Adrià–when Brandenburg walked into The Bazaar in Los Angeles to help with the opening. The two bonded quickly. “We were both single fathers with two kids, so we started doing family vacations together,” says Brandenburg. “We hung out together. We got into trouble together. We got out of trouble together.”
The two chefs, along with Katsuya Fukushima—now of the Daikaya Group, which includes Haikan, Tonari, and Bantam King—became what Andrés called his Delta Force, sent in to help with openings, high-profile events, or whatever else needed doing.
Brandenburg left ThinkFoodGroup in 2011 to work for real estate developers Edens & Avant as their first director of culinary strategy; he notably went on to help design and find vendors for Union Market. Through it all, he and García stayed tight. Sometimes, the friends would walk through the market together. “It was one of the hardest things to do,” says Brandenburg. “I’d always see issues and end up giving suggestions to people on how they could be better.”
The errors and inefficiencies bothered him to no end, but there was only so much he felt he could do to help operators improve. This disconnect made him start to question the food hall business model featuring a single landlord leasing spaces to a range of vendors, each operating independently.
García later got a firsthand look at another food hall business model when he played an outsize role in setting up New York City’s sprawling Mercado Little Spain, a joint venture between Andrés and brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià that debuted in 2019. In that instance, one creative hub controlled all the concepts, a setup that became difficult during the pandemic since financial and operational burdens weren’t shared across a variety of stakeholders. Though the food hall is still thriving, García began thinking of how a food hall could divide the risks, as well as the rewards, in a more equitable way.
Ultimately, Brandenburg began collaborating with real estate company Tishman Speyer to develop a food hall at their International Square office development on the corner of K and 19th streets NW, above the Farragut West Metro. During a summer trip to Majorca in 2018, he convinced García to be a part of it. (The chefs memorialized their partnership in the project by embedding a pair of spoons they took from The Bazaar in the floor of The Square close to the 19th Street NW entrance.)
The Square differs from other food halls in several profound ways the two chefs hope will ensure consistent quality, eliminate inefficiencies, maximize profits, minimize some risks, and relieve their partners of “the minutiae of running restaurants,” as Brandenburg puts it. First, all the ingredients and alcohol are bought collectively. “That way we have volume buying power,” says García. “I can negotiate the best prices, we know where products are coming from, and we can have a proper rotation of ingredients.”
Another novel component: the commissary kitchen on the lower level, featuring prep kitchens, bakery, butchery, and storage, all operated by The Square. The goal is to do as much work as possible in advance for all the operators upstairs. For example, if a vendor is selling a fried chicken sandwich, the downstairs prep team will bread the cutlet, bake the bun, make the pickles, and prepare any specialized condiments, so the operator just needs to fry the chicken and assemble the sandwich.
“It’s a little bit easier than building out a restaurant right now,” says Brandenburg. “We build out the storefronts and put in the hoods, while the tenants pay for their equipment, staffing, and startup. They’ve got skin in the game, but it’s not what a traditional restaurant build out would cost.”
The partners control several concepts within The Square. García runs Jamón Jamón, a stall specializing in grazing boards showcasing Iberico ham, charcuterie, and cheeses, as well as Brasa, which means “ember” in Spanish and takes its inspiration from Sunday morning bike rides García took with his father in the mountains outside Barcelona. The highlight of these excursions was stopping for lunch at one of the farmhouse-turned-restaurants dotting their route, where they would dig into platters of grilled sausages and vegetables accompanied by pan con tomate and allioli (the Spanish version of aioli), a presentation that is faithfully recreated here to delicious effect. The chef also oversees the just-opened sit-down restaurant Casa Teresa, a tribute to Catalan hearth cooking and his grandmother, Teresa Espinosa Moreno.
The co-founders’ divergent backgrounds power Yunge’s, a corner stall serving up hot-from-the-fryer churros and frosty soft serve made with bases from Dolcezza. The frozen treats are an homage to Brandenburg’s great grandfather who immigrated to the States from Germany in the early 20th century. Leaning into the family’s patisserie background, he opened Yunge’s, an ice cream shop on First Avenue in what is now the eastern border of the Gramercy Park neighborhood. (Brandenburg recently visited; the space is now a David’s Bagels.)
The pair also control the 42-seat Atrium Bar, which is overseen by Owen Thomson, former co-owner of the recently shuttered, Tom Selleck-obsessed tiki bar Archipelago on U Street NW. An Andrés veteran, Thomson also serves as the food hall’s beverage director.
García and Brandenburg turned to several longtime industry veterans to fill out The Square’s other spaces. James Beard Award winner Ann Cashion and John Fulchino head up Cashion’s Rendezvous, a spiritual sibling to the now-closed Johnny’s Half-Shell. The just-opened Flora Pizzeria is helmed by Tom Wellings and Camila Arango of Pluma by Bluebird Bakery, and Wellings runs the onsite bakery. Bidwell’s John Mooney is behind Yaocho, a Polynesian riffing stall putting out fried chicken, fish sandwiches on poi purpled buns, fresh sides, and juices. And another pair of Andrés alums, Teresa Padilla and Geraldine Mendoza, are behind Taqueria Xochi, which specializes in birria, tacos, and Mexican minded cocktails. (Though there were announcements about the inclusion of Tawle, a kebab-focused Middle Eastern concept by Maydan’s Rose Previte, and Mahal Afro-Filipino BBQ from Jerome Grant of Sweet Home Café and Dacha Restaurant Group, neither concept will be a part of the food hall; Tawle ended up being renamed Kirby Club and opened in Fairfax’s Mosaic District late last year.)
“We’ve got people that are seasoned professionals and could be opening restaurants on their own, but they’re helping us make this place better,” says Brandenburg. “We’re listening to all their feedback and trying to collaborate with them as much as possible.”
There are more concepts to come. In the coming weeks, Cashion will open a coffee shop by day, wine bar by night concept, while former Sushi Nakazawa chef Masaaki Uchino aims to open Kiyomi Sushi by Uchi early next year.
The Square, 1850 K St. NW. dcthesquare.com