For 72 years, guests have found exceptional French dining first at Chez François in Washington, D.C., and since at L'Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia. Today, the restaurant enters a new chapter, “one dedicated entirely to preserving the warmth, tradition and cuisine that have made it a cherished destination for generations of families, first dates and lifelong regulars.”
Beginning in September, Warren Thompson, President of Thompson Restaurants, a longtime guest of L'Auberge Chez François and Jacques' Brasserie, steps into a role as steward of the restaurant, committed to ensuring its traditions, hospitality and Alsatian culinary spirit continue. It's a personal commitment Thompson says, rooted in years of being a guest of this place.
Chef François Haeringer, a native of Alsace, France, opened the restaurant as Chez François in Washington, D.C. in 1954. In 1976, that tradition found a new home in Great Falls, Virginia, as L'Auberge Chez François, a reflection of the auberges of Alsace. Across seven decades, the restaurant has remained defined by that same spirit: seasonal French cooking, a storybook setting and a sense of occasion that has quietly become part of this community's story.
"It’s all about the memories people build here, one visit at a time," said Owner and Executive Chef Jacques Haeringer. "This next chapter is built around carrying that feeling forward. … Warren has loved this restaurant as a guest for years … which is exactly why I trust him with its future."
Thompson said: "Places like this are rare, they become part of how a community remembers itself. My role now is simple, to help make sure it's here, in the same spirit, for decades to come."