Rogue 24's R.J. Cooper On Gypsy Soul Plans, Possible Expansions

Looks like R.J. Cooper's plan for upcoming Washington, D.C. restaurant Gypsy Soul is getting bigger. The Rogue 24 chef chatted with us about the Mosaic District project, and reveals that he may just go national with this restaurant.

"It's the brand that we're going to develop to go to multiple locations because it's accessible and I can put it anywhere in the country," Cooper told The Daily Meal Saturday at the Sweetlife Festival.

Gypsy Soul will reportedly open in November, Cooper said, who has previously promised a 5,200-square-foot dining room with a 2,100-square-foot rooftop bar for a total of 210 seats.

As for the menu? "It's more sustainable, farm-driven," Cooper said. "So we're using what the farmers have, what they bring us, and try to develop the menu from there."

Past reports have noted that the menu will include beer, wine, and cocktails, and Cooper says Gypsy Soul will be more accessible than Rogue 24; not as interactive, but more mass-driven. "It's a different outlet for creativity and it's a different structure," Cooper told us. "This one is more mass driven i.e. more customer-driven than what Rogue is."

If he expands, however, the menus would be completely different thanks to the farm-driven focus, Cooper notes. And don't expect to see him head to New York or Boston; "I want to expand to Nashville, Austin, Charleston, and Philadelphia," Cooper said. "The cities I like to party in."