Jaleo and minibar Restaurateur Lists Foxhall Mansion

• June 3rd 2010

by Mark Wellborn

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For those of you who don’t know Rob Wilder, chances are that you know his restaurants. Along with acclaimed chef José Andrés, Wilder is responsible for opening Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico and minibar, a collection of DC’s more celebrated eateries.

UrbanTurf learned last week that the DC restaurateur recently put his seven-bedroom Wesley Heights mansion on the market, and decided to catch up with him to learn more about the home and what lies ahead for him in 2010.

Wilder bought the 10,000 square-foot Wesley Heights home at 4815 Dexter Street NW in 2007. When he put it on the market, Wilder told UrbanTurf that he realized there were a number of things that he and his family would miss about the home.

“The kids love their play loft and fire pole and my favorite part of the home may be the large wine cellar, which is conveniently on our main floor,” Wilder said. “My wife’s parents like the big apartment, which has a patio and windows that look out onto the garden.”

When Wilder and his family moved in, they built a bedroom suite on the third floor, insulated, cooled, and racked the wine cellar, fenced in the yard for the dogs and did a number of other cosmetic enhancements.

“In the end, we spent as much on upgrades as a small house,” he said.

Aside from the home itself, Wilder noted that the neighborhood and the location in the city are hard to beat.

“We love being so close to Battery Kimble Park,” he said of the nearby green space off Chain Bridge Road.

Even though it is on the market, Wilder and his family will not necessarily be moving out. His other home on Bradley Lane in Chevy Chase, which was featured as the DC Design House this year, is also currently on the market.

“We are ‘fortunate’ to own two beautiful homes,” Wilder told UT. “We have the pleasure of living in whichever does not get sold for the right price!”

So, aside from selling houses, what else is on the horizon as far as business ventures?

“Later this year, Think Food Group (Wilder’s and Andrés company) is opening two places at the Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas: a ‘reimagined’ version of Jaleo and China Poblano, José‘s unique combo of Mexican taqueria and Chinese noodle bar.”

Maybe if you buy one of his homes, that will help you get a seat at minibar. We understand those reservations are particularly hard to come by these days.

• 4815 Dexter Street NW (map)
• On the market for $3.95 Million
• Listing Courtesy of Liz Lavette Shorb of Washington Fine Properties

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/restaurateur_lists_4m_foxhall_mansion/2135.