Sancerre Gets Approval To Open In Old Town Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved the application for Sancerre, a French-American restaurant and wine bar proposed near the King Street Metro Station at 1725 Duke Street, Alexandria. The Planning Commission made the recommendation to the council earlier this month.

The upscale restaurant will come to Alexandria from the owners of Grand Cru Wine Bar and Bistro in Ballston. The two-level restaurant will offer 212 indoor and 100 outdoor seats, occasional live music, French and American cuisine and a large selection of wines from around the world at a full-service bar.

The next step will be building and opening the restaurant, but no timeline has been announced for an opening. Troy Thorpe of Grand Cru told Patch in an email the team is finalizing the lease, followed by securing building permits. This will take about four month.

The venue will include outdoor courtyard seating near a fountain, as well as private event space and outdoor venue for weddings, graduations and other celebrations, according to a city permit application.

Operating hours will be 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. The outdoor dining hours have been limited to 7 a.m.-11 p.m. due to a nearby hotel. Live entertainment in the courtyard would be limited to 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sancerre will add onto the dining options around the King Street Metro, which are more plentiful down King Street toward the waterfront. The space is located in an office building, part of a five-building complex at King Street Station. Italian pizzeria Quattro Formaggi and a dentist's office are also tenants in the building.

"I love the fact that this site is coming back to life," said Vice Mayor Justin before the vote. "I think this is really exciting and this has been a dormant area for quite a while for the city."

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