Most restaurant groups source their spirits from the same distributors. We decided to build our own distillery — and it changed the way every bar in our family operates.
Metropolitan Hospitality Group has been opening and operating restaurants across Northern Virginia and D.C. since 2005. Over the years, we’ve built a portfolio of neighborhood restaurants, each with its own character and audience — from bustling American bistros to intimate speakeasies. But no matter the concept, the bar has always been central to the experience. So when we opened Open Road Distilling Co. in Reston Town Center, it wasn’t just another venue. It was a decision to take full control of what goes into every cocktail across our restaurants.
Today, American Vodka, American Gin, Eagle Eye Rye, and Independence Bourbon are the foundation of cocktail programs at every MHG location. Here’s how that plays out across the portfolio.
CIRCA — The Neighborhood Bistro With a Serious Bar Program
CIRCA is where MHG started — our original concept, first opened as CIRCA at Dupont in 2007. Today, CIRCA operates in Clarendon, Foggy Bottom, Navy Yard, and The Boro, and each location is built around the same idea: seasonal American fare, an energized social scene, and a cocktail list that holds its own.
Having Open Road spirits behind every CIRCA bar means our bartenders aren’t limited to what’s on a distributor’s shelf. The seasonal cocktail menus rotate with intention — our American Gin shows up in botanical-forward builds with elderflower and fresh citrus, Eagle Eye Rye anchors stirred drinks with depth and spice, and our American Vodka serves as the base for more adventurous creations featuring house-made shrubs and infusions. Every cocktail on the menu is crafted specifically around spirits we produce ourselves, and that level of control is something most neighborhood bistros simply can’t offer.
Open Road Grill — Five-Time Best Sports Bar, Powered by Our Own Spirits
Open Road Grill is our sports bar concept, with locations in Merrifield, Rosslyn, and Reston. Northern Virginia Magazine readers have voted it Best Sports Bar in the Best of NoVA awards five times — and while the TVs, live music, and covered patios keep people coming back, the bar is a bigger part of the story than most sports bars can claim.
Open Road Grill’s bourbon and whiskey selection runs deep, anchored by Independence Bourbon and Eagle Eye Rye. The cocktail list is built to be approachable — well-crafted classics that don’t overthink it — but because the spirits come from our own distillery, the quality behind even a straightforward pour is a cut above. The craft beer list leans local, but when guests reach for a cocktail, they’re drinking something made by the same team that runs the restaurant.
Él Bebe — Latin-Inspired Energy With Cocktails to Match
Él Bebe brought a different energy to the MHG portfolio when it opened in Navy Yard — tacos, tequila, mezcal, and a vibe that hits somewhere between a great dinner and a night out. Now in Navy Yard and The Boro, Él Bebe is where our spirits get pushed in bolder, more adventurous directions.
Open Road American Vodka and Gin become the canvas for cocktails that layer in tropical fruits, smoky mezcal, and house-made agave blends. The bartenders here use our spirits as a jumping-off point rather than a constraint — and because they can walk into the distillery and talk directly with the team making the product, the creative process moves faster and goes further than it could with an off-the-shelf bottle.
TRIO Grill — Classic American, Crafted With Care
TRIO Grill in Merrifield is our classic American grill — a neighborhood staple where the food is hearty, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the cocktail list puts bourbon and rye front and center. Independence Bourbon and Eagle Eye Rye are the backbone of TRIO’s bar program, showing up in Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, and seasonal builds that lean into the warmth and depth our spirits are known for.
TRIO is a reminder that having an in-house distillery doesn’t mean every cocktail has to be complicated. Sometimes the best thing a great spirit can do is anchor a classic done right.
Salt — The Speakeasy That Started It All
Tucked below Open Road Grill in Rosslyn, Salt is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there — and that’s exactly the point. Salt was MHG’s first speakeasy concept, and it set the tone for what we’d later build with Heirloom. The cocktail menu here is tighter, more intentional, and designed for a different pace. The lights are low, the drinks are stirred, and the spirits in your glass were made by the same restaurant group that built the room you’re sitting in.
Salt is where Open Road spirits get their most refined treatment — the kind of cocktails that reward a slower sip and benefit from the consistency and quality that comes with producing your own product.
Heirloom — Back-to-Back Best Cocktail Bar in Northern Virginia
Heirloom is the crown jewel. Hidden inside Open Road Distilling Co. in Reston Town Center, it’s a cocktail-forward, chef-driven restaurant with an intimate, jewel-box atmosphere — and it has been named Best Cocktail Bar in Northern Virginia Magazine’s Best of NoVA awards two years running.
The cocktail program at Heirloom is built entirely around Open Road spirits, and the proximity to the distillery makes it unlike any other bar in the region. Limited releases, barrel picks, and experimental pours that never leave the building are all part of the experience. The menu pairs refined plates — think beef carpaccio with truffle aioli, crispy pork belly with papas bravas, and dry-aged duck breast — with cocktails crafted steps from where the spirits were distilled. It’s the fullest expression of what happens when a restaurant group makes its own spirits and gives its best bartenders the freedom to push them as far as they can go.
Why It Matters
There are a lot of restaurant groups in the D.C. area. Very few of them distill their own spirits. That distinction isn’t just a talking point — it changes what shows up in your glass at every single location.
When we opened Open Road Distilling Co., we weren’t trying to start a spirits brand. We were trying to make our cocktail programs better. The fact that it also produced an American Vodka, a Gin, a Rye, and a Bourbon that stands on its own — and that you can now find our ready-to-drink Old Fashioneds at Virginia ABC stores across the state — is a reflection of the quality we built for our own restaurants first.
Next time you’re at any MHG restaurant, ask your bartender about what’s in your glass. The answer starts in Reston.
Follow along @drinkopenroad for what’s pouring across the MHG family.
Metropolitan Hospitality Group is a locally owned restaurant group operating since 2005. Our portfolio includes CIRCA, Open Road Grill, Él Bebe, TRIO Grill, Salt, Heirloom, and Open Road Distilling Co. across Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Named a 2026 Washington D.C. Top Workplace by WTOP News.