Packed with antique woodwork, lavish chandeliers, and three levels for wining, dining, and events, the 7,300-square-foot Columbia Firehouse opened July 20 in Old Town. Built in 1883 by the city of Alexandria to house the Columbia Steam Engine Fire Company, the historic structure was converted into a restaurant complex in the late 1970s. In its new incarnation, the venue is operated by Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which also operates Vermilion, Tallula, Rustico, Buzz, and Star Catering, among others.
On the venue's ground level and at the entrance, there is an elaborately detailed and spacious bar with brick and dark-paneled wood walls below a recessed ceiling of antique pressed tin. A few steps down, a small 20-seat dining room has a working fireplace and a collection of glassware and cocktail shakers displayed in built-in cabinets. Connected to the bar is the 70-seat Atrium dining room that has soaring brick walls, a canopy glass roof, and an adjacent gated patio that holds 40 for a reception. The menu for the ground level rooms is American bistro with a focus on burgers and modern comfort food such as blue crab hushpuppies with sweet pepper mustard.
Reached by a dramatic wood staircase, the 80-seat dining room on the second level is, again, wood paneled in tiger oak, with a large Victorian chandelier and centered Palladian window. Up additional stairs, guests reach the 25-seat Wannamaker room that also has a working fireplace and a cozy attached bar that holds 20. Presently available for events, the second level will have a chophouse menu of meats sourced from pure breeds when it opens in early September.
