La Caccia Comes to Middleburg
Kevin Ash brings restaurants, a social club, and a speakeasy to the former Fun Shop property on Washington Street.
Written by Lia Hobel | Photos courtesy of Kevin Ash
On West Washington Street, the former Fun Shop property is being prepared for its next act. For years, the building was part of the town’s familiar rhythm — a place locals knew, visitors noticed, and generations associated with the charm of a small village main street. Now, developers Kevin and Remington Ash are reimagining the landmark address as something layered, atmospheric, and distinctly Middleburg.
Kevin, president and CEO of Madison Dale Consulting LLC, Courthouse Commons LLC, Leesburg Central LLC, and Clay Construction LLC, purchased the former Fun Shop property with a vision for more than a new restaurant. His work includes hospitality-driven projects in Leesburg and the Chase Club model, now being extended west. But Middleburg carries its own resonance. Kevin’s first real estate development work began here in the mid-1990s, when, at 23, he developed two homes in town. Returning three decades later feels, in many ways, like a full-circle moment.
“Middleburg is just such an awesome, quaint town,” Kevin says. “It’s great to be back 30 years later.”
That homecoming has taken shape at 115 and 117 W. Washington Street, where the project will bring several distinct experiences under one roof: La Caccia, an Italian-American restaurant; L’Enoteca, a casual coffee and wine bar with smaller plates, grab-and-go offerings, prepared meals, pasta, and sauces; the Chase Club, a private social club and gathering space upstairs; a 32-seat speakeasy tucked behind L’Enoteca; an art gallery presence with works available for purchase; and three workforce apartments expected to follow after the hospitality spaces open.
The former Fun Shop’s winding footprint helped shape that vision. Where some buildings dictate one clear use, this one offered a maze of possibility. Its connected rooms, additions, and tucked-away corners inspired a more layered approach — dinner here, wine there, gatherings upstairs, a hidden drink behind another door, artwork catching the eye along the way. Rather than erase the character of the property, the team is building from it, hoping a familiar address will hold a new kind of life.
At the heart of the concept is La Caccia, a name that means “the hunt” in Italian, a nod to Middleburg’s equestrian heritage and the countryside that surrounds it. Inside, the restaurant will be the more refined and intimate of the dining spaces, with glossy black walls, white tablecloths, and a moodier atmosphere. The idea is Italian cuisine filtered through Hunt Country — elegant but tactile, rooted in tradition but not overly formal.
Just next door, L’Enoteca will offer a lighter, brighter counterpoint, taking cues from an Italian market and wine bar. Guests might come in for coffee during the day, collect sandwiches and a bottle of wine before heading to a tailgate, or pick up prepared meals and house-made sauces to take home. If approvals allow, the team also hopes to explore a small sidewalk market-style offering on weekends.
Seasonality and local sourcing will guide the culinary program. Chef Vincent Badiee, who lives in Middleburg, will lead the restaurant. One of La Caccia’s most distinctive features will be its pasta-making room, an 8-by-8-foot glassed-in space where guests can watch fresh pasta being made on-site. A small chef’s counter nearby will place diners close to the action. Art will be woven throughout the venue, not simply as decoration but with a gallery-like feel and works available for purchase.
“It’s a very sensory experience,” Remington says. “You’re going to smell the Italian scents from the pasta-making room, and you’re going to feel the different textures from the rich draperies to the antiques that we scatter throughout.”
The experience continues upstairs, where the Chase Club will occupy approximately 2,400 square feet as a private gathering space for dining, meetings, events, and social connection. Members will be able to order food from QR codes placed on the tables. More than a traditional meeting space or event room, it’s an extension of the hospitality experience — a place for conversation, private meals, and community.
The Chase Club concept builds on the Ashes’ Leesburg work. In Middleburg, they see a natural westward extension, especially for residents in western Loudoun and the surrounding Hunt Country communities who may find Leesburg just too far away for regular use. With a future endeavor also envisioned in Warrenton, the Middleburg location sits naturally along that countryside corridor.
Below and behind the more visible spaces, a 32-seat speakeasy tucked behind L’Enoteca will add another intimate setting to the property.
The project’s residential component brings the vision back to town life. Three workforce apartments, located toward the rear of the property and accessed separately from the restaurants and club, are intended to support people who work in Middleburg and want to live nearby.
“This is just an opportunity where people could afford to live in town and work in town,” Kevin explains.
For now, the focus is on opening the doors. The restaurants and Chase Club are projected to open by the end of November, with the apartments expected in the new year. Menu planning is already underway, signage has been approved, and the team is working toward welcoming guests in time for the holiday season.
In the end, the project is less about replacing what stood there than about adding another chapter to a property Middleburg already knows. The familiar address will once again open its doors, this time with Italian flavors, Hunt Country details, private gathering rooms, artwork for sale, and spaces meant for both lingering and belonging. ML
Published in the October 2026 issue of Middleburg Life.