El Torogoz gets a makeover, and gets ready to open patio service
/El Torogoz owner David Ventura has been making customers smile on 9th Street since 2000
El Torogoz has a long history in Petworth, with its kitchen making delicious El Salvadoran and Italian meals since 2000.
Located at 4231 9th Street NW, the El Salvadoran restaurant opened as a take-out kitchen in 2000, when the location was originally a used furniture store. In 2004, owner David Ventura was able to get the full space and renovated it to become a sit-down restaurant the following April 2005.
“Many years have gone by, since we first came,” David said. When they first opened the restaurant’s doors in 2005, an employee at the nearby Marshall's funeral home welcome him to the area, and said he hoped David would stay longer than the previous owner. "Well, I'm here to stay!" David responded.
Fifteen years later and the restaurant is still doing well, but the interior was old and needed a makeover. David partnered with his landlord Cathedral Property Partners to submit the paperwork for a $50,000 Great Streets Grant. That kind of tenant/landlord partnership on a grant isn’t common, and the grant went a long way toward renovating the building, including new windows and a new sign for the outside (coming soon), a new ceiling inside, larger, modern TVs, new tables and chairs, renovations to the bar and new barstools. They started the work in April, finishing this week.
“The kitchen is the same, and is still delicious,” David said with a smile.
“We believe we can bring a different skillset to the Great Streets process that enables us to effectively partner with our tenant so they can make the best use of the Grant,” said Robbie Leibner, whose company owns the Torogoz building. “We are proud of the fact that according to the city, El Torogoz is the first Great Streets Grant recipient to receive 100% of its Grant, and more importantly, the first of this year's recipients to actually complete its renovation — not an easy achievement during this pandemic shutdown.”
“I have been cooking for 45 years in the Washington area,” David said. He worked as a chef for an Italian restaurant in Capitol Hill for a long time before deciding to open his own place. “Luckily, we got this space here. You don't need a large space to do what you like to do,” David said. “We’ve been here serving the community and made a lot of friends. It was very hard at the beginning, times were different. But we are still here, always trying to do our best. “
El Torogoz is open for delivery via UberEats and Grubhub, as well as pick-up orders (see their website for the menu).
They open their patio on Friday morning at 11am with a few tables (6 feet apart), and will be offering a free appetizer and drink to mark the occassion.
El Torogoz
4231 9th Street NW
torogozrestaurant.com
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