Auction Ends: Mar 4, 2012 10:00 PM EST

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L'Auberge Chez Francois, A French Country Inn Gift Certificate

Item Number: 491

Estimated Value: 200 USD
Sold: 223 USD to kglugar

Number of Bids: 22 - Bid History

Item Description

$200 gift certificate for L'Auberge Chez Francois located in Great Falls, Virginia.

François Haeringer, the founder of L'Auberge Chez François, was a pioneer when he opened the original Chez François in the heart of Washington DC in 1954. Haeringer's goal was to operate a restaurant with "a nice ambiance and good honest food at affordable prices." The restaurant's enduring popularity is a testimony to his success with this approach.

In 1975, the Claridge Hotel, which housed Chez François, was sold to make room for an office building. Instead of retiring at age 57, Haeringer decided to fulfill his dream of opening an "auberge" - a family inn prevalent in his native Alsatian countryside. After finding the perfect six acres of rolling green hills in Great Falls, L'Auberge Chez François opened in 1976, and became a family business. Eldest son Jacques, by then a chef in his own right, became Chef de Cuisine. The dining rooms are filled with Haeringer family heirlooms and murals depicting scenes of Haeringer's place of birth, Obernai, France.

Today, L'Auberge Chez François is much the same as when François "Papa" first opened it. Family-run, with sons Paul as the restaurant's sommelier and Jacques as Chef de Cuisine, Haeringer's spirit infuses every aspect of the restaurant, as well as his meticulously crafted meals. He was a culinary icon in the Washington, D.C. community and he helped to set the standard for authentic French food that satisfied your appetite and your soul in a restaurant known for marriage proposals, celebrations of all kinds, and family memories.