Pan American Bakery and Café will be the in-house restaurant at the new Arlington Mill Community Center after it opens later this summer.
The location in the four-story community center, at 909 S. Dinwidde Street, will be Pan American’s fourth, but it will be decidedly different than the storefront a few blocks down Columbia Pike — which will remain open — and the shops in Alexandria and Fairfax.
The restaurant in Arlington Mill will specialize in healthier foods and offer options like specialty coffee, gelato and its specialty, salteñas, according to its lease agreement with the county. The County Board is expected to approve the lease at its meeting Saturday. The restaurant will be on the ground floor and occupy 1,875 square feet.
The owners, Maritza Genny DeFoor and Ramiro Morgana, were chosen, according to county staff, because of their “business experience, local presence, financial strength, willingness to accept the county’s monetary terms, and readiness to proceed.”
The community center is on target for completed construction in early August, Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Myllisa Kennedy said. The first programs are expected to be held in early September and the DES has planned a ribbon-cutting for the new building Sept. 28.