Barista trainer Michael Brooks prepares some of the equipment at the Reston Ted’s Bulletin. “For our espresso we use a completely manual machine,” said Brooks. Ryan Dunn
On Jan. 30, the restaurant Ted’s Bulletin at 11948 Market Street will open at 7 a.m. to the public. “Ted’s is going to be a favorite in Reston Town Center,” said waitress Rachel Dillon. “We can modify any food order, and we are very customer friendly. It is a family-based business,” said Dillon.
The restaurant is at the location of the former Uno Chicago Grill, and it is the first in Virginia. Owners Mark and Ty Neal, also behind DC's Matchbox restaurants, named the restaurant after their father, a West Virginian who was the unofficial "cook of the neighborhood." The restaurant chain, known for their comfort food and homemade pop tarts, will open another site in Merrifield.
“From the ownership perspective, the location in Reston was a perfect fit for Ted’s,” said John Donnelly, executive general manager with Matchbox Food Group. The restaurant’s tomato soup recipe was featured in the New York Times, and in addition to lunchtime and supper menus, offers breakfast dishes at anytime. Staff from out of the area has been traveling to the Reston site to prepare for the opening.
One of the staff traveling in from Washington, D.C. is barista trainer Michael Brooks. “I worked in coffee shops and restaurants before, it is a lot of work but a lot of fun,” said Brooks. “For our espresso we use a completely manual machine, it is a process that coincides with our value that the food is as only as good as the hands that prepare it. It is all made with care, and we work as a team.”
Co-owner Ty Neal has been looking forwards to the grand opening at Reston. “We have been looking for space in this area for about five years,” said Neal. “This is my neighborhood, I live right down the street.” The dining room features 151 seats, including a semi-private meeting and event space in a sunken dining room. The location will also open a large patio in the spring.
The space has been outfitted with antique bulletin boards, and a projection screen that will show cartoons and family shows from the 1930s and ‘40s has been set up at one end of the restaurant. “For the interior design, we used trapping and lights salvaged from the old Philadelphia Convention Center,” said Special Events Project Manager Ashlie Levy.
Other signature items include milkshakes, prohibition cocktails and a variety of homemade baked goods. Friendly staff and the classy interior design make the restaurant a pleasurable experience. Ted’s will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, beginning Jan. 30.
For more information on the restaurant, visit the webpagetedsbulletinreston.com.