Momofuku in talks for restaurant at CityCenterDC

It looks as though CityCenterDC was just the kind of development the District needed to draw some of New York’s hottest chefs south.

First it was Daniel Boulud, whose DBGB-DC bistro is  under construction at the downtown development. Now, David Chang of the Momofuku family of restaurants is looking at the site.

Rumor of the Momofuku addition surfaced last week  in a tweet from Foodie & the Beast host Nycci Nellis, and a source familiar with the discussions confirms to the Washington Business Journal that Momofuku is in talks for a space at CityCenter.

Chang’s unique brand of Asian fusion at Momofuku — which means “lucky peach” in Japanese — and his other restaurants and bars has developed a cult following. In addition to the original New York location, he also owns ma Peche, Momofuku Ssam bar, cocktail bar Booker and Dax, tasting menu restaurant Ko, and several locations of Momofuku Milk Bar, which serves desserts.

He also owns restaurants in Toronto, Canada, and Sydney, Australia. But he grew up in the D.C. area, attending Georgetown Prep. A longtime Redskins fan, Chang even offered to start a Kickstarter last year to raise $6 billion to  buy the Washington Redskins from Dan Snyder, telling the Washington Post, “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

CityCenterDC developer Hines declined to comment on Momofuku’s interest in the project, and a representative for Momofuku did not immediately return a request for comment.

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