Five years ago, Roseina’s was just a vision in Dan Andre’s head. Now it’s a household name in Mount Vernon, one that locals are reluctant to give up.
News that Dan and his wife, Tree, were moving to Belize caused some regular customers to wonder if they’d still be able to stop in and get the jerk chicken that they’ve grown to love. Or select a wine from the “small but special” selection available. Or stop and visit with the owners as they prepared their dishes.
The resounding answer to all of these questions by new owners, Uffe and Joy Mikkelsen, is a resounding yes.
“We plan to keep everything exactly the same,” said Joy. “We want to continue the same Roseina’s that people have grown to love.”
Uffe concurred, saying, “We want to carry on what Dan and Tree have brought to this neighborhood. I’ll still make the white sauce and the jerk chicken.”
Over time, as they discover what customers like, Uffe will begin to introduce new items and will continue the tradition of offering daily specials.
THE TRANSITION from one set of owners to another is taking place during July. Joy is meeting the customers, and Uffe is learning Dan’s menu and his recipes.
“It’s a gift they’ve given to us to be with them for a month,” said Joy.
Come Aug. 1, Uffe and Joy take over, and Dan and Tree wing their way to a new life in Belize, a life that they’ve been planning for the past few years.
“We started island shopping about two years ago,” said Dan. Tree said that they were looking for a bed-and-breakfast type place. With Dan coming from Florida, they considered Captiva but then decided that they wanted something more special than that.
“What we have here in Mount Vernon in so special, we wanted to find that someplace else.”
Their travels would take them to the island of Belize. Fate sent them to the Sundiver Beach Resort.
As they sat and dined at Lagniappe, the resort’s restaurant, they discovered that the owners of the resort were looking for somebody to run the restaurant. “Here we are,” they thought, and before they knew it, they were signing papers to take over.
“It’s what the Caribbean was 20 years ago,” said Tree.
The setting is spectacular. Diners look out past the pool to a tropical setting. Palm trees blow gently in the breeze. Dan and Tree will either live on the property or buy a waterfront home nearby.
The Andres will face new challenges in their island restaurant. No longer will they be able to go to the local grocery store to pick up unordered items.
“A barge comes every week with fresh produce,” said Tree. “And I think I’ve found a supplier [from whom] I can order some good wines, one of the items that they think are lacking at the current facility.
Tree’s daughter, Lucy, won’t go to the corner to meet the school bus. Being on an island, she will have to take the “school boat.” According to Tree, she is very excited about that.
“IT ALL JUST HAPPENED,” said Dan. The search for a new owner was just as fortuitous. Uffe and Joy Mikkelsen were at a party when a mutual friend mentioned that Dan and Tree were looking for the right people to sell Roseina’s to.
It couldn’t be just anybody. After all, the Andres had a tradition to maintain. They had made many friends during their five years at their location in Hollin Hall Shopping Center. They were a vital part of the community, donating to countless schools and churches, as well as to The Capitol Steps.
“We were blessed to be so accepted,” said Tree.
Martha Lear has been coming to Roseina’s for years and said, “I will miss Tree and Dan. They always greeted me cheerfully (and by name) whenever I stopped in.”
Tucker Schrage and her family have been coming to Roseina’s since they opened and used them to cater a large birthday party for her mother. She said, “We’d watched Roseina’s grow. It’s wonderful to be a part of that, and we look forward to their continued development.”
Ironically, Schrage is a good friend of the Mikkelsens, and it was at her parents’ party where the Mikkelsens learned about the pending sale.
Uffe and Joy were the only prospective owners Dan and Tree met with. When a local shop owner called to inquire about the sale of the restaurant, he was told that it was already sold.
For their part, this was what Uffe and Joy were looking for. Uffe grew up in Denmark and was trained at the Culinary Institute in Copenhagen. He came to the United States to intern and never left. He and Joy met at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, she as the director of guest services, he as the executive sous chef. They moved to this area when Uffe became the executive chef for the Jockey Club in Washington, D.C. He served as the executive chef at both the Pentagon City and Tysons Corner locations before moving on. Joy served as an event planner for RItz-Carlton Pentagon City, leaving in 1995 when her first child was born.
After 15 years working for Ritz-Carlton and two more at Catering by Windows, Uffe was looking for a different type of work environment.
“His dream was to have his own gourmet store,” said Joy.
“I firmly believe that as an executive chef, your values change over the years,” said Uffe, who has two young daughters, 6-year-old Olivia and 4-year-old Tate Louisa. He is already relishing the fact that he will have Sunday and Monday off.
Although, as Dan is quick to mention, Monday is still a work day even though the store isn’t open. That’s the time when mail is opened, orders are placed and other details are taken care of.
“It’s a job where you wear many hats,” said Uffe, as illustrated by the fact that he and Dan had just come down from the roof where they were checking out the fan.
In the past, Uffe would call in the engineer to fix the fan. Dan laughed as he said, “Now when you call the engineer, you’ll get yourself.”
Yet for all the added responsibilities that come with being an owner, there also comes the benefit of being your own boss and letting the creative juices take over.
“I want this to be an everyday location, a place where people can get good home cooking,” said Uffe.
Joy is excited about helping in the store. She’s trying to meet as many of the customers as she can.
“It’s a very loyal clientele,” said Joy. “We’re very excited, we’ve been meeting so many of the customers who are letting us know what they like and what they want to see. Our daughters are looking forward to being part of Daddy’s new restaurant.”
Dan and Tree’s parting advice to the Mikkelsen’s? “Enjoy yourself.”
Roseina’s is located at 1307 Shenandoah Road, in the Hollin Hall Shopping Center. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. It can be reached at 703-768-0064.