Do you hear Sirens? The Columbia Firehouse in Old Town is back!

The new Columbia Fireouse is back - Atrium Dining Room

Oh yes! There will be smoke! It will be coming from the new Columbia Firehouse! On Monday, July 20 - the Neighborhood Restaurant Group which also operates award-winning, Vermilion, Evening Star Café, Tallula, and Rustico will add another Northern Virginia establishment to its family, while reviving a beloved piece of Alexandria’s history. In the historic building located at 109 South Saint Asaph Street that once served as Columbia Steam Engine Fire Company Alexandria's local fire station, a new neighborhood restaurant, Columbia Firehouse, with two distinct dining experiences will be opening in Old Town. This space was formerly operated by Bookbinder's restaurant which closed at the end of May. Chef Orlando Hitzig from the recently closed neighborhood restaurant, Mark and Orlando's in Dupont Circle was tapped as the new Columbia Firehouse's Executive Chef. Hitzig has also cooked in some of DC's best kitchens, such as 701, Vidalia, 1789 and also Charlie Palmer's Aureole in New York.

The original firehouse from 1871has been reserrected into a lower level main dining room and an upper level chophouse. The 120-seat dining room downstairs, which opens Monday, July 20, will offer a casual menu with a focus on modern American comfort food, with small plates and sandwiches, such as dry-rubbed & smoked chicken wings with buttermilk blue & firehouse bbq sauces, Maryland crab cake with jicama slaw and Dijon aioli. If that doesn't ignite your appetite, try one of Columbia Firehouse's burgers which promises to use on the best angus beef from former Tallula Chef Nathan Anda's Red Apron Butchery's - where beef is pasture raised without preservatives or hormones.

The classic chophouse will take shape in the 80-seat upstairs dining room and is slated to open shortly after the main dining room on the ground level- in a few weeks. The meats and all of its charcuterie will be, butchered and prepared by Red Apron. All of the meats provided to Columbia Firehouse will be sourced from pure breeds at carefully selected farms only. Most cuts will come from local Virginia and Maryland farms that practice responsible farming methods – pasture raised, without the use of preservatives or hormones. Red Apron’s popular charcuterie and sausages will also be staples on a menu that will boast updated classics such as Steak Tartare with pickled mushrooms, caramelized onion aioli & spicy cheddar “chz-its” and Steamed mussels with Dijon mustard, smoked bacon & cornbread croutons. Fresh local oysters from Dragon Creek Aqua Farm will be a mainstay, as will steakhouse side dishes featuring seasonal ingredients, such as white corn succotash with Virginia ham and summer squash ratatouille.

Columbia Firehouse will also house two bars. The main bar, located on the ground floor of the restaurant, will specialize in pure, authentic versions of classic cocktails including Rickey’s, Fizzes, Sazeracs and more. The bar will also feature a great selection of microbrews, as well as a wine list designed to highlight extraordinary vintages at affordable prices. The second floor bar and adjoining lounge in the chophouse will be open for special events, and will allow cocktail enthusiasts to sample a rotating menu of creative concoctions, as well as aperitifs and after-dinner drinks.