A Break, Giving Back, and Some Love

Lifestyle
Written By Nicole Jones

I don’t know about you all, but I’m burned out; more importantly, my staff is burned out. It’s no secret that 2020 was one of the hardest for restaurants (as well as many other industries), and although I try and remain optimistic, we need a break. We were fortunate enough to have enjoyed average business around the holidays (thank you for your support!) and therefore made the decision to close the shops for a few days in February to thank staff for their tremendous effort during the pandemic and provide each with a legitimate “holiday break.” We will resume regular business hours after the five days of closure and we hope to see your smiling faces as we return rested and relaxed!Stomping Ground will be closed February 1 - February 5Bagel Uprising will be closed February 8 - February 12 

February 12 and March 12

In the spirit of taking care of the community and thinking beyond the four walls of our restaurant, in honor of Black History Month and Women’s History Month we are formalizing two giving days where we can give back to a population that is too often overlooked and underserved - Black women and girls. Not only are marginalized populations statistically less likely to have access to quality mental and physical healthcare, they are constantly exposed to the normalization of violence toward other people of color on a daily basis. This is why we chose The Loveland Foundation for our charitable donation; they provide healing through therapy for Black women and girls around the country. Those who believe in therapy as self-care will understand this is a service we wish all had access to, and hopefully with time, we can begin to close the gap.On February 12 and March 12, a percentage of all purchases will go to The Loveland Foundation. We hope you’ll join us in giving to an extraordinary cause.  

February 14 - Valentine’s Day Special

Although we do not typically offer dinner on Sunday nights, this Valentine’s Day you deserve to be as comforted as possible:Food MenuChicory Salad with Bacon, Walnut, Pear & Sherry VinaigretteCreamy Seafood Chowder with Shrimp, Rockfish, Potato, Fennel & Celery with Grilled BreadChocolate Mousse, Candied Orange & Vanilla CreamYou can enjoy this special menu with one of our new cocktails! Raquel is back from maternity leave, so our booze program is back on track.Booze MenuThe Bond Girl: Uncle Val’s Gin (think floral), Lillet, Cocchi Americano & BittersSpiced Maple Old Fashioned: Templeton Rye, Maple Simple Syrup & BittersPinky Up: Our Cold Brewed Iced Tea with Elijah Craig Bourbon, Lemon & LavenderNot Your Abuelita’s Horchata: Our Horchata, Flor de Cana Dark Rum & Cinnamon Syrup 

Nicole Jones

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Head Janitor, Chef, and Proprietor | Modest Bread

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 (now Rubia’s) 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. 

Modest Bread is a collection of idiosyncratic neighborhood restaurants devoted to hospitality in Northern Virginia and includes Rubia’s, Bagel Uprising, Mae’s Market & Cafe, and Virginia’s Darling.

www.modestbread.com

2309 Mt Vernon Avenue

Alexandria, VA 22301

703.664.0445

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