Artisphere, Arlington's newest multimedia arts and cultural venue, has found a restaurant to occupy part of its space. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The owners of Arlington's Guajillo restaurant and Casa Oaxaca in D.C. are planning to sign a lease to run a full service restaurant and bar in Artisphere, Arlington cultural affairs division chief Norma Kaplan confirms.

A vendor to run the restaurant and bar at Artisphere was one of its bits of unfinished business when the new arts venue opened, on schedule, in October. Now, it looks like Arlington County is getting ready to approve a lease for the bar/restaurant space. The county board is scheduled to vote on the lease Jan. 22.

Both Guajillo and Casa Oaxaca specialize in "authentic Mexican cuisine," so we're thinking Artisphere patrons can expect some Latin kick to the food and drinks to be offered there. The Artisphere eatery may offer more than what the clientele has come to expect at Guajillo, however. "I think they're going to have some Mexican dishes, but also, it's going to be a broader kind of menu," Kaplan says.

The company, Barroso, Inc., is run by Karen Barroso and Rolando Juárez. They're out of town until Jan. 1, Juarez told us when we reached him via email, but we'll have more from them on their plans for Artisphere in the coming weeks. The venue is also talking with Barroso about potentially running concessions for night events, Kaplan says.