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Of all the spaces on Capitol Hill that feel deeply ingrained in the neighborhood, few were created in the last decade’s waves of redevelopment. Some will eventually weave their way into the fabric but the new spaces tend to be larger and more separated from the Hill, designed to fit a variety of possible commercial tenants. A rarity in this mix, the now eight-year-old Chophouse Row development’s core restaurant space a has new start this autumn and is full of neighborhood-ful life with the opening of Xóm, a new “elevated” Vietnamese joint from an under-30 restaurateur who already has multiple openings under his belt.

CHS reported last month on the plan for Cuong Nguyen to take over the space formerly home to Marmite as Seattle food and drink veteran Bruce Naftaly planned his retirement from the industry.

Nguyen’s new restaurant has now moved in and added a few personal touches including new plants and indoor trees in the food and drink space at the core of Chophouse Row. The name was chosen to express the idea of a tight-knit neighborhood, Nguyen says.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and moved to Seattle in 2005. By 2008, his parents opened Pho Ha in Shoreline and he began working there as a teenager. While it was first seen as a task, he found his passion in the family-owned business. While managing Pho Ha, Nguyen opened Ong Lam Bistro in Greenwood earlier this year.

The October debut of Xóm makes two successful openings for Nguyen on the year.

Xóm is Nguyen’s shinier, more upscale concept and he said he has made it a point to feature offerings beyond pho, rice dishes, and banh mi.

“So here, we also have pho, but besides that we have other dishes that you cannot find anywhere else. We also elevate it and we turn it into something that’s beautiful, but still has the original taste and flavor,” Nguyen told CHS. “Xóm will be similar, but different items, different food, but still elevated—very authentic Vietnamese, but then authentic doesn’t have to be low-key.”

Meanwhile, there are also big changes a foot at Chophouse Row’s adaptive reuse cousin. Melrose Market’s food and drink core is making a home for the Levantine flavors and natural wines of Cafe Suliman in a project that will be a homecoming for Bar Ferdinand collaborators Ahmed Suliman and Marc Papineau.

Xóm is now open at 1424 11th Ave. Learn more at xomcapitolhill.com.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻 
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍