Green Pig Bistro’s new home showcases a playful mural honoring its namesake. | Fredde Lieberman The 14-year-old Arlington stalwart relocates two blocks away this week Green Pig Bistro officially bid adieu to its original home on Sunday, September 29, but the neighborhood standby will soon reopen right nearby. The French American favorite for terrific deviled eggs, an extensive happy hour, and delectable cornbread starts a fresh chapter this week, resurfacing two blocks away at the foot of Mexican-themed Buena Vida Gastrolounge (2900 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia). The plan is to debut its new digs on Friday, October 4, if not sooner. Green Pig Bistro 2.0 will occupy the first level of the three-story building situated at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Fillmore Street. Buena Vida will continue to operate on the second floor, and Green Pig Bistro will share its prized rooftop deck. Fredde Lieberman Mini mascots live on at Green Pig Bistro’s new location. Green Pig Bistro/Facebook Gruyère-stuffed pork schnitzel paired with spätzle, buttery cabbage, butternut squash, and smoky pork jus. Local restaurateur and Fairfax attorney-by-day Fitzgerald Lewis bought the bistro in the past year, tapping Seamore’s alum Lawrence Cohn to oversee its largely unchanged menu. (Green Pig’s former chef Tracy O’Grady now leads the kitchen at Vienna’s Clarity.) As the name implies, Green Pig Bistro has a way with pork. Standouts include Gruyere-stuffed pork schnitzel and a cassoulet full of crispy pork belly, smoked pork shoulder, and duck sausage served with toasted bread. Daily happy hour at the bar (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) features $8 Kentucky mules and French 75s and $5-and-up snacks like fried pickles and Buffalo “baby back” pork ribs. Daily specials include fried chicken Mondays, meatloaf Tuesdays, and roasted porchetta on weck on Fridays. The ground-floor space formerly home to Buena Vida – and TTT (Tacos Tortas and Tequila) before that – just adopted a fresh farmhouse feel that speaks to its new tenant. A massive, 34-foot-long mural rising nearly 10 feet tall floats prominently above the open kitchen. The whimsical statement piece, which stems from an original design commissioned by Lewis, features three French chairs and smiling green pigs sitting under colorful umbrellas. Vintage pig decor made the walk over from the original location (1025 N. Fillmore Street). Lewis is on an Arlington shopping spree as of late. He bought Buena Vida from its founder Ivan Iricanin, who opted to go all in on his Balkan chain Ambar instead. Lewis also now owns Barley Mac and Crafthouse, with menus overseen by Cohn. Green Pig Bistro has a little less seating this time around. The setup includes a mezzanine area and now one bar instead of two. Green Pig Bistro will get a private dining room for the first time. The closed-door perk for parties up to 30 was inherited from its days as TTT, which closed in 2021. Buena Vida then took over all three floors, leaving more than enough room for another tenant to take over the first level. Lewis, who also owns D.C. dive Stan’s and six local Denny’s diners, had ambitious plans to reopen in just a day. “Running a 24-hour operation [like Denny’s], I am accustomed to making things happen,” he says. The decision to uproot Green Pig from its original address was ultimately a financial one. “The landlord essentially wanted to double what we were paying,” he says, citing a spike of $32 to $60 per square foot. A lot has changed in the neighborhood since Green Pig debuted in 2012, he adds. “Asking rents in that area of Clarendon are crazy,” says Lewis, who’s seeing as high as $100 per square foot for restaurant space. Green Pig’s original landlord eventually came down to $48 per square foot, but the price would still increase 5-6 percent annually. “Every year we’d have to justify menu price increases,” he says.