WASHINGTON — Nando’s Peri-Peri opens its newest D.C.-area location in Ballston, Virginia, Saturday, and Washington Capitals team members will be behind the counter serving up the chicken and chips.
Nando’s is donating 100 percent of opening-day sales at its Ballston store, at 4401 Wilson Blvd., to the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, which supports the charitable efforts of its teams, including the Caps, Wizards and Mystics, through youth sports and health projects, military and veterans’ affairs, and hunger and homelessness projects.
Nando’s picks a local charity to get first-day profits at each of its Washington area grand openings — usually tens of thousands of dollars.
Caps players showing up at the Ballston Nando’s on Sept. 17 include left wing Andre Burakovsky, center Lars Eller, right wing Stanislav Galiev, defenseman Nate Schmidt and right wing Tom Wilson, as well as Capitals alumnus Paul Mulvey and Craig Laughlin.
The Ballston Nando’s is a couple of blocks from the Capital’s practice facility at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex.
The Red Rockers spirit squad, Caps announcer Wes Johnson and Elliot Segal of “Elliot in the Morning” will make appearances.
The Ballston opening comes one week after Nando’s opened a location in D.C.’s Woodley Park, with first day sales proceeds going to the nearby Oyster-Adams Bilingual School.
Nando’s opened its fist U.S. restaurant in D.C.’s Chinatown in 2008. It now has three dozen locations in the Baltimore-Washington region and Chicago, the majority of which are around the D.C. metro area.
Nando’s was founded in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1987. The company has restaurants in two dozen countries, and is also the largest collector of South African contemporary art, displayed in its restaurants.
