A combination restaurant, bar and art gallery in Ballston is hosting a farewell party this weekend after five years in business.
Whino Restaurant and Bar’s last happy hour and dinner service will take place from 4-11 p.m. this Friday, on the second level of Ballston Quarter at 4238 Wilson Blvd. After that, the business is throwing a final party with painting, free food and DJs from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. on Saturday.
Owner Shane Pomajambo, a longtime art collector also known for Art Whino and Blind Whino, told ARLnow his friends in the restaurant industry had warned him, “it’s a tough business.” He said the past five years in Ballston have been a fun ride, although he won’t be reentering the culinary space again anytime soon.
“My hat goes [off] to all the people who have restaurants, and had them for a while,” Pomajambo said. “It’s very, very hard, very low margins, and you have to be at the right spot to get the right foot traffic in order to really make it.”
Whino opened in June 2021, combining small plate cuisine and craft cocktails with an art gallery experience. The 6,200-square-foot restaurant was home to a collection of large-scale, rotating murals that created a “living art gallery,” with a focus on “lowbrow/pop surrealist” works.
Pomajambo expressed gratitude for his supporters over the years and said that his artistic endeavors will continue through Art Whino arts organization, with plans to host more events throughout the region.
“It’s all kind of experiments to see how we can bring art to the people. That’s really what it is,” Pomajambo said. “I’ve never wanted to own a restaurant, and I don’t think I want to ever own a restaurant again. It was a fun experiment, but as any restaurateur knows, it’s super hard to open a restaurant. It’s a very complex machine.”
Elsewhere on the second floor of Ballston Quarter, nonprofit Inspira Dance is planning a grand opening celebration this Saturday.
