Confirming the news that Young & Hungry broke almost a year ago, Michel Richard told WaPo‘s Tom Sietsema that he will be opening “a good American restaurant with a small French accent” in the former Maestro space at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.

The 110-seat restaurant, called Michel, will be more casual than either Richard’s Citronelle, that temple to modern French cuisine, or Maestro under Fabio Trabocchi.  The operation is promising no tablecloths and “a good steak and wonderful fries,” according to Sietsema’s item.

So what will happen to Citronelle? The investor package last year indicated that Tysons would be “Michel Richard’s home,” where the chef “will likely be in the kitchen most evenings.”

“Citronelle is not moving,” says Mel Davis, PR coordinator for Richard. “I’ve been saying this over and over again.” Nor is Richard moving his office to Tysons.

At least as far as Davis knows, she adds.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery