Bethesda restaurateur Ashish Alfred—the chef behind Woodmont Triangle restaurants 4935 Bar and Kitchen and Duck Duck Goose—is adding another local restaurant to his portfolio.
Alfred is working on George’s Chophouse, a new steak restaurant with a raw bar, that will take over the first-floor space at 4935 Bar and Kitchen on Cordell Avenue.
“We’re completely re-launching the first floor with a new concept,” Alfred said Friday.
4935 will continue to operate on the second floor as a venue for receptions, parties and bar and bat mitzvahs. The venue serves an evolving catering menu based on guest demand.
George’s will serve between five and seven moderately priced cuts of steak with seasonal sides, according to Alfred. It will also have a raw bar featuring fresh oysters, steamed clams and crabs. The drink menu will include classic cocktails, wine and beer. The restaurant is aiming for an August opening.
The chophouse’s design will have exposed brick and an exhibition kitchen where diners can watch the cooks in action.
“We’re looking to definitely brighten it up and warm it up,” Alfred said about the first floor space.
Alfred said the new concept is named after his brother, Dhiraj Waidande. Waidande went by the nickname George and died suddenly two years ago after a heart attack at age 39. George was 10 years older than Alfred and the chef said his brother helped raise him while their immigrant parents worked long hours.
“Some of my earliest food-related memories were with him,” Alfred said. “He would find hole-in-the-wall places to take me to that had great food.”
Alfred said when he first opened 4935 in 2013 he was in the midst of a drug and alcohol addiction, which his brother helped him work through. However, his brother didn’t get a chance to see him become fully sober in 2015.
“He never got to see me flourish,” Alfred said.
Alfred, 31, opened his second restaurant, the French brasserie Duck Duck Goose, in April 2016 as a way to showcase his cooking skills. Alfred attended the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and worked in New York City restaurants for several years before coming to Bethesda.
Southern Living magazine named Duck Duck Goose as the best restaurant in Maryland earlier this year. Alfred said the recognition raised the standard at the restaurant.
“Diners have a certain expectation and we want to make sure we deliver,” Alfred said.
And Alfred isn’t planning to open just one new restaurant this year. He’s also working to launch a second Duck Duck Goose in Fells Point in Baltimore. He said that restaurant will open at the corner of Fleet and South Washington streets.