Ensemble is a new to-go food hall in Bethesda that is opening on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Ensemble, a food hall only selling items for contactless pickup and delivery, is scheduled to open Wednesday at 4856 Cordell Ave. in Bethesda.<\/p>\n
Ensemble is the latest concept by Salis Holdings, a Washington, D.C., company that operates multiple restaurants including Teds Bulletin, Federalist Pig and Sidekick Bakery. It also owns the future restaurant Honeymoon Chicken.<\/p>\n
At Ensemble, customers can order items from four separate menus for each restaurant using a mobile application.<\/p>\n
Federalist Pig, a barbecue restaurant, includes offerings on its Ensemble menu such as a pulled pork sandwich ($13.50) and a brisket sandwich ($15.89). It has sharable entrees such as smokey chicken wings ($7).<\/p>\n
The Teds Bulletin offerings include a cheeseburger ($15.29) and a crab cake sandwich ($16.29), as well as all-day breakfast items such as French toast ($11.99) and chopped brisket hash ($14.89).<\/p>\n
Honeymoon Chickens menu includes both a fried and spicy chicken sandwich, for $13.49 and $13.95. It also has a shareable hot honey cauliflower dish for $6.50, in which the cauliflower is fried and tossed in the restaurants signature hot honey.<\/p>\n
The Sidekick Bakery menu features a selection of tarts and cookies, each for $4.<\/p>\n
Nick Salis, the senior vice president of operations for Salis Holdings, said in an interview on March 20 that the idea for Ensemble came from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that pickup and delivery have become such popular dining options.<\/p>\n
Salis said Ensemble consolidates many of Salis Holdings restaurants under one roof by letting people order food for pickup and delivery from a central point.<\/p>\n
The dilemma when youre sitting at home is, Well, I want ribs from Federalist Pig and I want a breakfast burrito from Teds Bulletin and we have to order from separate places. Well, were here to solve that problem, he said.<\/p>\n
When youre stuck at home and you think about the experience of cuisine and the ordering process, we really wanted to fill a gap in that.<\/p>\n
When a customer orders food through the app, an employee enters the customers contact information into a database, Salis explained. He said the food will be ready in about 15 minutes. Customers are notified on the app that their order is ready.<\/p>\n
When customers come into the restaurant, they retrieve their order from a locker by placing their phone under a scanner outside the lockers. The scanner then reads a code that the customer received from the app, and the locker containing their meal opens. <\/p>\n
Salis said the contactless experience is ideal for the pandemic, when customers dont want to interact with employees. Alternatively, Ensemble delivers within a three-mile radius, he said.<\/p>\n
All of the food is made in house, in a kitchen where an executive chef from each of Salis Holdings brands is working, he said.<\/p>\n
Salis explained that different parts of the kitchen are designated for preparing different foods from each of the brands. Then, all items in a particular order are packaged on a table in the center of the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Lets say youre ordering ribs from Federalist Pig and French toast from Teds [and] a crispy chicken sandwich from Honeymoon. Itll all come in [to the table], [well] package the order here and then go to the lockers for guests to pick up, he said.<\/p>\n
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@bethesdamagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Go here to read the rest: <\/p>\n To-go food hall opening Wednesday in Bethesda - BethesdaMagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ensemble is a new to-go food hall in Bethesda that is opening on Wednesday. Ensemble, a food hall only selling items for contactless pickup and delivery, is scheduled to open Wednesday at 4856 Cordell Ave. in Bethesda Continue reading