Chevy Chase residents will soon have a go-to spot for teleworking over coffee and pastries and meeting up with friends for dinner. Little Beast, an all-day cafe and restaurant from Aaron Gordon, his brother, and his father, is set to open this summer at 5600 Connecticut Ave. NW.

“It’s named after my oldest daughter,” Gordon says. “Little Beast” is a term of endearment for his three-year-old who is full of life. Gordon wants the restaurant to come across as whimsical and fun. The restaurateur, who is also behind Red Light, Drafting Table, Bakers & Baristas, adds that it was a no-brainer to name his next project after someone in his family. “Chevy Chase has had such a big population of young families coming in over the past four or five years,” he says. 

Little Beast plans to operate from 7 a.m. to midnight every night of the week. During the day, they’ll serve house-baked pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and Red Velvet Cupcakes alongside Vigilante Coffee. Come evening, the restaurant will switch over to a wood-fired food menu complete with creative pizzas, 10 to 12 sharable dishes, and larger plates like pastas, roasted chicken, and rockfish. No chef has been named yet.

He’s shooting for a casual, family-friendly atmosphere with sophisticated touches. A focal point of the design, for example, will be an indoor-outdoor bar with 15 seats. Gordon also says he’s hoping to get the permits to seat 50 people on an outdoor patio. 

Gordon says he “couldn’t be more a part of this area.” He’s referring to the fact that both he and his father live in Chevy Chase. “Funny enough, 40 years ago my parents got off the Beltway from New York when they moved to D.C. and came down Connecticut Avenue when they had to stop for an emergency,” he says. “They took me into the Chevy Chase Lounge [then at 5510 Connecticut Ave. NW] and changed my diaper. It was literally my first stop when we moved here 40 years ago … We took over the spot because it was open and we loved it.”

He feels most restaurateurs are elbowing each other out of the way for coveted leases in Shaw, The Wharf, and Navy Yard and neighborhoods like Chevy Chase are underserved. “There are a lot of neighborhoods that could use a fun gathering spot like this.”

Little Beast, 5600 Connecticut Ave. NW.