to the fullest at every moment . And unmistakably palpable . Her art will this is what we will do ,” says Sandy . be on display until September . After And so it was full steam ahead with that , local artist ’ s work will be displayed throughout the restaurant in their restaurant , Locals — in the name and memory of Syd . “ We ’ re collaboration with Riverworks . But doing this whether it makes money we ’ ll get to that part of the story a or not ,” assures David . “ The true little later . mission is to be a place . We actually David and Sandy are committed to sourcing local as much as put a lot of Syd ’ s shells and things she had collected into the foundation of the buildout .” resources in the Ag Reserve . Dinner
they can , drawing on the abundant
service is going to be American cuisine , farm-to-table , and made from
Locals is now open for breakfast and lunch — inside and scratch . Daily menus will be driven out — and full service fine dining by what protein and fresh-picked will be coming soon . Upon entering the downstairs and upstairs
Creating a restaurant like Locals
produce is available from the farms .
dining rooms you will be struck by from nothing is a massive undertaking — a complex multi-tiered exercise
Sydney ’ s stunning artwork gracing the walls . Her talent and range in making meaning from chaos and is instantly apparent . From bold managing a pile-up of tasks and colored abstracts to classic figure decisions , even for the seasoned poses — each has been thoughtfully restaurateur . Not to mention the positioned , enlivening the open large upfront financial investment ! sunny rooms . Syd ’ s presence is
The chef search was daunting . Jason Smith was their final candidate after a bleary-eyed look at resumes , zoom interviews , and general angst . “ When Jason gave all the right answers about his cooking style and approach , and when he surprised us by saying he grew up and lived in Poolesville , that was the clincher !” says Sandy .
Unbelievably , Sandy and David tasted Chef Jason Smith ’ s food for the very first time on the evening of Sydney ’ s celebration of life with
Sydney ’ s art is on display at Locals through September . full confidence that he
Chef Jason and Kevin Simmons serve up delicious breakfast sandwiches .
would pull it off for the nearly 100 guests . And of course , Jason did . “ That ’ s how we roll ,” laughs Sandy .
Jason started as a dishwasher at Staubs , a beloved local restaurant from bygone days , went to culinary school , and has had stints with the Clyde ’ s restaurant group . With a special affinity and caring for his hometown , he wants to get it right at Locals and is excited about the abundance of creative freedom he has to fashion his menus .
Producing much of the flow of fresh produce at Locals was born of an altruistic intention on the part of Sandy and David to help folks suffering from food scarcity during the dark days of the pandemic . They heard that Lynn Arndt , Executive Director of Germantown ’ s BlackRock Center for the Arts , had offered , due to a COVID shutdown , the interior space of the center to be a distribution hub for local produce to get to families in need . ( See article , page 24 ). Initially David and Sandy started helping by delivering food to families . As the effort grew so did their involvement . Soon after , Madison Fields offered up its one-acre garden for the cause and they agreed to man-
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