After 15 months, Stomping Ground will reopen for indoor dining. But, we have rules:

Over the last few weeks, many of the COVID restrictions and social distancing that took our profession nearly a year to get accustomed to have been lifted, seemingly without warning. True to our closing, we have been offered zero guidance or insight on what this should look or feel like, although there is no shortage of opinions about what people think we should be doing.

As restaurants scramble to accommodate your “Hot Vax Summer, “I can promise you as we transition again, you can expect slow service, incorrect orders, menu shortages, rising prices, and a general sense that we are overwhelmed. For myriad reasons, hiring is a real struggle, and our costs are rising, supply chain shortages continue, combined with a general lack of practice, we are, in fact, overwhelmed.

With our entire staff fully vaccinated, after 15 months, we are going to open the dining room at Stomping Ground for weekdays only, Tuesday – Friday, 7am to 3pm. Starting Wednesday, June 16.

Volume demands force us to continue Saturday and Sunday as outdoor/online/take-out service. This includes dinner at The Alley.

Our Policies (that will surely change):

• Please wear a mask when walking about the space or engaging with anyone on our staff. Yes, it might just be for optics, but we aren’t emotionally ready for 50 unmasked patrons milling about our tiny space. Sorry, not sorry.

• If you are dining outside or getting your food to go, please use our to-go window so we can limit the amount of customers in the dining room at a time.

• Seating is first-come, first-served. If we are out of seats, we will not allow more guests into the dining space. Please feel free to find a seat outside.

• Once you have found your seat, please do not move. That includes moving from outside to inside.

• Do not add chairs or change our dining arrangement in any way.

• We will be resuming counter service; orders must be placed before you find a seat. You cannot “hold tables” for your remaining guests.

• Please, from the bottom of our hearts, this is still not the time for online reviews. If you have feedback or a complaint, present it at the time of your discontent and allow us the opportunity to make it right. If you are uncomfortable with person-to-person confrontation, our email address is manager@stompdelray.com.

Thank you for all of your patience and patronage. We would not be here to make up snarky rules and policies without you. We are truly grateful, despite it all. 

• About the author
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Nicole Jones

Head Janitor, Chef, and Proprietor | Stomping Ground

https://www.stompdelray.com/

chef@stompdelray.com

703.567.6616

Nicole’s cooking style is rooted in, but not limited to, her love of southern biscuits and her diverse culinary upbringing. A military brat, she spent her childhood in the Chicago suburbs enjoying her great-grandmother Mae’s Lithuanian cooking. As a tween, she moved to Paulding County, Ga. where she begrudgingly fell in love with the charmingly perplex small towns of the Deep South. She fondly remembers grubbing on Martin’s biscuits, late-night Waffle House debauchery and cooking with her family. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Nicole started a marketing career at an art nonprofit in Atlanta. At 25 years old, she became the youngest executive at the local Atlanta NPR affiliate. Chasing her dreams, she moved to Alexandria, Va. where she took a short post in the Whole Foods marketing department. Realizing that cooking had been her true love all along, she began night courses at L’Academie de Cuisine. She completed her apprenticeship at Blue Duck Tavern where she was promoted to a line cook after graduation. From there, Nicole worked as a private chef for busy Washington D.C. executives and their families. As grown-ups tend to do, Nicole realized something about her childhood — the best parts were enjoying small town communities, cooking with her great-grandmother and sharing meals with family and friends. She opened Stomping Ground to build a safe and welcoming community around yummy, handmade food from local sources. As her first foray running her own kitchen, she has shamelessly hired better, smarter cooks to fill her kitchen and your bellies. Her great-grandmother’s recipes often appear on the Stomping Ground menu without advertisement and, no, she won’t tell you the secret ingredients. Nicole lives in Del Ray and won’t shut up about how much she loves living there.

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If you wander down Del Ray’s, “The Avenue,” you won’t miss the farm-red building with a rustic fence bordering the patio. Stomping Ground opened two years ago and quickly became popular for its made-from-scratch biscuits and its neighborhood vibe. On weekends, excited guests line up before Stomping Ground opens hoping to be the first to get a just-out-of-the-oven biscuit or a fresh salad. Stomping Ground is mostly known for its fast casual breakfast and lunch but on Thursdays and Fridays they provide a full dinner service after 5:00pm. All meals are built from local, seasonal food that is organic whenever possible.

www.stompdelray.com

2309 Mt Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301

703.567.6616