Rosslyn’s Barley Mac has changed ownership and diners can expect some changes.
An ownership group that included local dining and nightlife entrepreneurs Scott Parker and Mike Cordero has sold the Rosslyn restaurant to restaurateur Fitzgerald Lewis and his partners, both groups confirmed to ARLnow.
Lewis currently owns about 20 restaurants in the region, including Meridian Pint in Dominion Hills, Crafthouse Arlington in Ballston, and a number of Denny’s.
Parker’s restaurants include Don Tito’s in Clarendon and Nighthawk Pizza in Pentagon City, as well as Bearded Goat barbershop and doggy daycare Playful Pack. Additionally, he’s working on converting the old Forest Inn into a new taco eatery in Westover.
Parker told ARLnow via email the reason the decision was made to sell the six-year-old restaurant was so that the “partners could focus on other projects.”
Lewis took over Barley Mac last month and has already completed minor alterations, including painting, cleaning, and adding more televisions to the bar area.
The plan is to do a larger renovation within the next three months, said Lewis, focused on making the restaurant more “lively,” including updating and adding televisions to the exterior patio. Lewis hopes to attract a sports-watching crowd, showing NFL games every Sunday and mixed martial arts matches.
There will also be more craft beers, pub-style food, and maybe even a wine club.
“That’s where the need is,” Lewis said.
One thing that won’t change is that Mike Cordero is sticking around, per Lewis. He will still be the head chef creator of the restaurant’s recipes. Cordero also runs nearby Taco Rock and is working on opening an “old school” Italian restaurant in Virginia Square later this year.
Barley Mac first opened in 2016 along Wilson Blvd as a bourbon bar serving “American tavern cuisine with an Italian twist.” In 2018, the restaurant received some regional attention when a server saved a diner from choking on cauliflower.