Salt & Vine has set a firm opening date for its new downtown Frederick restaurant: Wednesday, November 11. The Italian-focused restaurant will open at 51 S Market Street, in the storefront that housed La Paz for decades before the Mexican restaurant closed in December 2024.
According to Salt & Vine, the Frederick restaurant will open by reservation only when it debuts, with tables available to book now for dining starting on November 11. The new spot marks Salt & Vine's second location, expanding beyond its original restaurant in the historic Olney House at 3308 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, which opened in May 2023. As The MoCo Show reports, the restaurant is led by executive chef and owner Thomas Zippelli.
The Frederick menu promises handcrafted pastas, chef-driven entrées and seafood selections, per the restaurant's own description of the new location. Diners can also expect Italian desserts, cocktails, wines and digestifs rounding out the offerings. The restaurant says an outdoor lounge area will be part of the space, and both street parking and a nearby parking garage will be available for guests.
A Menu Built Around Scratch-Made Pasta
Salt & Vine's concept centers on chef-driven Italian cuisine, including hand-crafted pasta made fresh daily, wood-oven dishes, fresh seafood and premium steaks, the restaurant says on its website. The menu changes seasonally to highlight local, farm-to-table ingredients, a practice the restaurant has carried over from its Olney roots. At the original Olney House location, kitchen staff reportedly spend three to four hours each day preparing pasta completely from scratch, according to Montgomery Magazine.
That same emphasis on local, fresh and seasonally inspired Italian dishes is expected to carry over to the Frederick menu, per MoCoShow's earlier report on the expansion. Salt & Vine first teased the Frederick move on Instagram, where the account saltvinemd posted: “🚨 BIG NEWS! Salt & Vine is Expanding to Frederick, MD! 🍷”
Closing a Chapter for a Frederick Institution
The address Salt & Vine is moving into carries plenty of history. La Paz operated in downtown Frederick since April 4, 1978, and had been a staple of the local dining scene for 46 years before closing, the restaurant said in its own announcement. The business spent 18 of those 46 years specifically at the 51 South Market Street address, according to Frederick City Media. La Paz served its final meals on Sunday, December 8, 2024, and had indicated at the time that a new restaurant concept would move into the space sometime in 2025.
That timeline shifted, and Salt & Vine is now confirmed as the restaurant filling the longtime La Paz footprint. Private-event bookings at the Frederick location are expected to start in January 2027, a few months after the dining room itself opens, according to the restaurant's FAQ page. For now, the focus is on the November 11 debut, with reservations already open for prospective diners looking to be among the first through the door.
