The seafood-filled gumbo on Fraiche’s upcoming menu. | Fraiche/Matt Price Plus free bagels, Whitlow’s expands to the Wharf, and more intel. Fraiche Matt Price, who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, has become a successful self-described “internet chef” A self-taught chef with millions of YouTube and Instagram followers watching his Southern and Cajun cooking videos, Matt Price (better known as Mr. Make It Happen) is opening his first D.C. restaurant in early February. Fraiche, French for “fresh,” will incorporate traditional French, Cajun, South American, and Caribbean cuisines into modern dishes and promises to deliver “upscale dining without the pretension” in a news release. Signature dishes include Caribbean-style oxtail meatballs, sticky barbecue pork ribs, and a fried snapper smothered in mambo sauce, which have been featured in Price’s cooking videos. The former theater space in Columbia Heights will turn into a green and gold restaurant able to accommodate up to 110 diners. The restaurant itself will be divided into three distinct spaces: a cocktail lounge, greenery-filled main dining room, and another lounge featuring live entertainment and DJ performances. There will also be live DJ performances during weekend brunch service and outdoor seating for the warmer months. Free bagels at Pops Bagels for National Bagel Day The new Eckington bagel shop is giving out free bagels today, January 15, for National Bagel Day, with the option to either request a free bagel on its own or order a bagel sandwich and have the cost of the bagel discounted. Pops Bagels is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. everyday. 1625 Eckington Place NE Beloved sports bar Whitlow’s is opening a second location Whitlow’s, the lively bar that has hopped between Clarendon and D.C. since it opened in 1946, opens a second location in the Wharf’s Brighton space this March. The Brighton owners have turned over the 6,000-square-foot space to generational owner Jon Williams, with construction beginning this month on the waterside location. The renovated space will feature classic Whitlow’s decor from former locations, like vintage signs and sports memorabilia. 949 Wharf Street SW Fredde Lieberman The old-school Whitlow’s moved back to D.C. from Arlington in 2022 KNEAD Hospitality Expands to Philly and Virginia Beach in 2025 For the group’s first location outside the regional D.C. market, Knead Hospitality (The Grill, Succotash, Mah-Ze-Dahr, Gatsby) is bringing its upscale Mexican restaurant Mi Vida to Philadelphia’s new East Market development in mid-2025. The collaboration between the restaurant group and Roberto Santibañez has grown to three D.C. locations since 2018 and will also be extended to a fifth location in Virginia Beach this year, along with The Grill. Both restaurants will be part of musical artist and Virginia Beach native Pharrell William’s new Atlantic Park development. Blossom Beverages The cinnamon flavor can debuts an “aura-style design” instead of its original gradient. Apres ski party in Hi-Lawn’s Snow Globe The canned espresso martini company throws a ski-lodge inspired party in the Snowglow Dome pop-up this Saturday, January 18, to promote its new cinnamon flavor. Attendees can enjoy espresso martinis, hot cocktails, and cold beer while being blasted by snow machines and listening to DJs from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Normal tickets are free and VIP tickets to skip the entry line and enjoy special heated areas are $40, both are on Posh. 1309 5th Street NE Noodles en route to Southwest Eater spotted fresh signage up for Noodles 54, opening soon in Southwest’s long-closed Masala Art space (1101 4th Street SW). The Vietnamese noodle bar born in Logan Circle specializes in pho soups, banh mi sandwiches, and rice plates. — Tierney Plumb