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Business & Tech

Village at Leesburg Welcomes New Restaurant

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held by town officials, on Wednesday, to welcome celebrate the grand opening of Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill.

A new restaurant opened its doors in the Village at Leesburg, on Wednesday, following a ribbon cutting ceremony that was officiated by Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd and other town officials.

Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill is the creative concept of owner and restaurateur Dennis Thompson, also the co-founder of the Lone Star Steakhouse and Fox and Hound sports bar chains, who regularly travels out west. He fell in love with the feel of the area as well as the food and drawing from those experiences, he developed Firebirds.

Under the operation of General Manager Shannon Orleans, guests can enjoy well-seasoned steaks grilled over an open flame, generous burgers, oversized salads, herb roasted prime rib, fresh seafood and more. The Leesburg site marks the 20th location for the company nationwide and the fourth in the state of Virginia.

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“It’s a place that folks can come in if they want to have a hamburger and an ice cold beer or soda,” said CEO Mark Eason. “Or you can come in and get a filet mignon, a lobster tail and a very nice bottle of wine. We can make it what you want it to be.”

According to Eason, the Village at Leesburg was a very attractive location when the chain began looking into the market about two years ago. It took about 137 days to build, he said, and everyone is “very excited to be here.”

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“We think this is a great market for us. We’ve seen the other restaurants in the area and they’re doing well,” Eason said. “We’re not upscale and we’re not casual. We’re filling an image that’s known as upscale casual or polished casual. We’re right in the middle. We have great service, great food.”

Firebirds introduces a taste of Colorado, Eason said, and everything is made fresh, from scratch, every day. Everything is cooked on flame and wood. The aroma you smell when you come in, including the flavor that embarks in the food, is like no other, he said.

“Steaks, ribs, chicken, we’ve got great salads, awesome desserts. There’s really no veto item on our menu,” Eason said. “The Lobster Spinach Queso is our most popular appetizer. People love that. Our Crème Brulee Cheesecake is very very good. And then we’re just known for anything that comes off the wood fire grill.”

Mayor Umstattd said she enjoys every time that a new business opens in town especially a restaurant like Firebirds, which is “extremely both elegant and a lot of fun.”

“They’ve done a wonderful job with the décor, there’s a lot of warmth here and I think Leesburg is going to enjoy this restaurant,” Umstattd said. “I’m also happy to see that Village at Leesburg is getting more and more stores and restaurants in place. The theaters are here, LA Fitness, along with Wegmans, so I think this will just be a wonderful place to come and eat and shop and enjoy yourself.”

Town Council member and Supervisor-elect Kenneth Reid said that one of the most consistent complaints he used to receive was that there weren’t enough restaurants in town.

“All I can say is that I’m not getting any complaints anymore,” Reid said. “I hear things like we need a gas station, we need a book store, those kinds of things, but I do not hear complaints about not enough restaurants.”

In the worst recession in 20 years, Reid said downtown Leesburg is actually looking better now than it did in 2008 when a number of businesses began closing down.

“It’s truly phenomenal that we have the Village at Leesburg and we have a more proactive image,” Reid said. “I don’t think people are afraid about coming to Leesburg.”

General Manager Shannon Orleans said she felt very fortunate to be surrounded by such a wonderful community including the merchants in the shopping center.

“The entire city of Leesburg and the surrounding areas have been very strong support for us and we’re just thrilled to be a part of the community.”

Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill is opens at 11 a.m. seven days a week. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Visit www.firebirdsrestaurants.com.

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