Shane Pomajambo
Owner

Pedro Guzman
Executive Chef

Jenn Steadman
Assistant General Manger

Mara Abiera
Marketing Director

Cesar Varela
Beverage Program Director

Patrick Young
General Manager

ABOUT US
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WHINO, is a 6,200-square-foot restaurant, combined with an art gallery on the second floor of the new Ballston Quarter at 4238 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia. This modern open concept venue invites patron to inhabit large-scale mural installations while enjoying craft cocktails, beer, wine and globally inspired social plates. WHINO sports exposed black steel high ceilings, creating a loft like experience. The combination of design elements will provide a fun and refined destination for socializing and dining.

Pomajambo’s firm, Moderne Design Inc. of Great Falls, Virginia created the expansive restaurant/gallery’s dynamic interior. Guests will enjoy WHINO’s open floor plan housing six unique areas, including a 25-seat open kitchen bar; 51-foot craft cocktail bar and a beverage tasting bar which can accommodate 11 guests for tastings. To allow the space to flow openly yet be clearly defined, artists were chosen to create full immersion murals. The works of art give each area its own distinctive character and invite diners to become part of the scene.

The sharable small plates concept reinforces the social environment of a restaurant/gallery concept. WHINO’s opening menu focuses on a mix of modern dishes that meld American and international flavors and ingredients. The restaurant’s seasonal, globally driven menu spotlights distinctive dishes that vary with items such as Smoked Octopus with harissa chickpea puree, smoked salt; Prime Dry Aged Beef, withpolenta fries, charred endive, and salsa verde; Handmade Ricotta Gnocchi with seasonal vegetables, saffron vegetable brodo, grana Padano, toasted hazelnuts, and Scallop Aguachile, Cape May day boat scallops, tomatillo salsa, serrano, cucumber, black radish, finger lime, and micro cilantro.

WHINO’s mural installations focus on a new art movement commonly referred to as lowbrow/pop surrealist art, encompassing over 12 genres. From muralism, street art, illustration art and fine art, there is something for everyone to experience. Although it spans a multiple of disciplines, the collections share the theme of pop culture or a reaction to the current vibe better known by the name pop surrealism. The movement arose in the Los Angeles, California area in the mid 90’s from the skate culture with references to underground comix, punk music, and hot-rod cultures of the street. Most lowbrow artworks are paintings, but there are also toys, digital art, and sculpture.

The curation of art shows at WHINO will launch with a stable of artists who have worked closely with Pomajambo for the last 14 years such as Woes and Caratoes. WHINO will also be showcasing new artists, who are rising stars such as Dragon76, who recently finished a mural at the United Nations this year. Furthermore, art sculptures of collectibles from around the world will be available for purchase at WHINO. These limited-edition pieces vary in size from eight to 24 inches and prices will range from $50 to $300. New inventory will be released each month as the limited editions sell out at WHINO.

Shane Pomajambo
Owner

Having earned a Master of Architecture degree, while also curating lowbrow/pop surrealist art and nationwide mural installations, former New Yorker Pomajambo enjoys a large following for his popular art gallery, Art Whino. For 15 years, Pomajambo has been an active force in the Washington, D.C. art scene and has produced large-scale events at Art Basel in Miami, New York’s Comic Con, as well as the Richmond Mural Project, Austin Art Show, Heineken Mural Project in Atlanta, and the G40 Art Summit. Art Whino is now transitioning to WHINO, combining Pomajambo’s passion for art with his appreciation for entertaining around exception food and drink.

Eleftherios Natas
Executive Chef

 Chef Natas is a New Jersey born Greek American, with over 25 years of culinary experience.

Natas began cooking and exploring flavors at the early age of 15. He fell in love with restaurants and the endless creativity that food provides. His culinary experience includes hotel and casino restaurants in the Bahamas and Atlantic City, as well as a more recent position with Richard Sandoval Hospitality’s El Centro D.F. Here he served as the regional chef for Sandoval’s concept, conducting research and development for El Centro’s menu. Natas also worked for Alicart restaurant group in New York at both Carmine’s and Virgil’s BBQ, and at Mike Isabella Restaurant, Graffiato, in Washington, D.C.

Patrick Young
General Manager

With over 20 years of restaurant experience, Young believes building a culture within a brand in order to operate as one cohesive high-performing team starts with each individual hire. “I am captivated by the idea of how much a person who works with us could potentially learn if we provide an atmosphere of higher level hands on education. I want our team members to have individual 'specialities' for which they pursue to gain a much deeper level of understanding within the themes of our concept: Art Curation, Food Concepts, Drink Builds, Training, or Social Media/Marketing.  The goal is to then share these insights with their fellow team members, the guests and our leadership team.  My team should learn from me, but I should also be learning from them.“ 

Young knows and values his people, “No one is a job/job title. They must be more. I hire the person, first and foremost, not the restaurant experience. No one that works with me will ever be treated as a number. We all need to engage more in what we do and strive to be better. Everyone must work to expand their understanding on some aspect of food, drink and the art world. Embrace what is around us and learn from local farms, vinyards, coffee roasteries, wineries, breweries and galleries to provide value. I want them all to understand that the restaurant world, like the art world, is an experience.”

“I'm dedicated to the culture I aim to build with our leadership team here at WHINO so that we can all offer something unique to the thousands of guests that join us weekly to experience something more than ‘just another restaurant'.’  And I am beyond proud of the incredible people to my left and to my right who are working hard every day to help achieve this.”

Jenn Steadman
Assistant General Manger

Jenn hails from Long Island, NY, and found her passion for restaurants while attending college at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She quickly ascended to management at California Pizza Kitchen in Arlington, VA, where she worked for over six years. During this time, Steadman dove into the rapidly expanding local beer scene in the VA-DC-MD area, which has a plethora of craft breweries within a stone’s throw of each other.

Steadman plans to bring the creativity these brewers explore to the masses, providing a tailored experience one is hard pressed to find elsewhere. She is obsessed with doing on-the-ground research at different restaurants and bars, learning how to contribute something fresh and unique to the social dining arena. Her admiration for craftsmanship extends from the production side at vineyard, distillery and farm visits to meeting with curators, mixologists and chefs across the industry.