When Sheila Johnson, the owner of Salamander Properties, contacted Onwuachi about the space, he immediately began thinking about D.C. history.
“I really looked at the field – that’s what I love to do,” he said. “My mantra is that if something has a story, it has a soul. What was there before?
He decided to center Banneker after researching the history of L’Enfant Plaza, named for DC’s first cartographer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant. That story led him to Banneker, a black man who is credited with mapping the district’s boundaries using the location of stars. Banneker’s use of stars in his work recalls his grandfather, a slave who historians believe belonged to the Dogon people of Mali and Burkina Faso, both in West Africa.
Inspired by the way the Dogon people used the stars, particularly the constellation Sirius, to create maps, Onwuachi decided to draw his own map between West Africa and Washington DC via the restaurant. His goal is to infuse subtle references to DC history and culture into his signature cooking style that draws inspiration from his Nigerian, Jamaican, Louisiana Creole and Trinidadian heritage.
Although he grew up in the Bronx, Onwuachi’s journey as a restaurateur began with Shaw Bijou, a tasting menu restaurant located in the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest Washington. Less than six months after opening in 2016, Shaw Bijou closed its doors and Onwuachi moved to The Wharf to cook at Kith and Kin. The menu also took inspiration from Onwuachi’s beloved Afro-Caribbean cultures. In the meantime, he opened two locations of his upscale cheesesteak shop, Philly Wing Fry, the first as a pop-up in a Whole Foods and the second as a stand at Union Market, both of which closed in 2019. The following year, he became one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs, was recognized as Rising Star Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, and published his first book, “ Notes From a Young Black Chef.”
Amid this winning streak and the pandemic, Onwuachi returned to his native New York to open Tatiana, another Afro-Caribbean fusion restaurant whose menu celebrates the diversity of Manhattan and serves as an ode to his sister, who gave its name to the restaurant. Less than a year after opening, Tatiana was widely acclaimed: The New York Times declared it the best restaurant in the city, among other accolades. Today, less than 18 months after Tatiana opened, Onwuachi returns to the dock with Dogon.
“The D.C. community [has] has always been great for me, and being a part of this community is one of the highlights I look forward to,” Onwuachi said in a recent Zoom interview.
Onwuachi’s ties to DC extend beyond his restaurants. His grandfather was a professor at Howard University, and with aunts, uncles and cousins in the area, Onwuachi has long considered DC a “home away from home.” When Johnson, the hotelier, approached him in 2021 to discuss opening a restaurant at Salamander DC, he jumped at the idea. He has been hosting the Family Reunion, a celebration of diversity and inclusion in the restaurant industry, in Salamander’s Middleburg, Virginia, since 2021, and looks forward to continuing his partnership with Johnson, whom he has long admired work. Another major reason he joined the project, he says, is that the company will be “black-owned, top to bottom.”
While menu details are still being worked out, he says diners can expect some of his “hits,” including plays on oxtail and Jamaican patties, but the new dishes inspired by DC culture and history will not be missed. The decor, of course, will be on the theme of astronomy. So while diners enjoy their meal, they can get a glimpse of what Banneker was able to see while mapping DC.
