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A Great American Restaurant set to open in 2027 in Gainesville will be a new concept for the chain and will be named in honor of a longtime local resident.

A "Tommy's American and Best Buns Bakery & Burgers" will be built on land across from the Virginia Gateway shopping center at the intersection of Linton Hall Road and Gateway Center Drive.

The restaurant will be named in honor of Tom Rush, Great American Restaurants’ chief operating officer and a resident of Gainesville, the restaurant chain announced Wednesday.

“I’m overwhelmed and humbled to see Great American Restaurants opening in a place I’ve called home for over 20 years, let alone it being named after me," Rush said in a statement shared by Great American Restaurants. "I can’t wait for it to open and for Tommy’s American and Best Buns to become part of our community.”

Rush and his wife, Abby, live in western Prince William County with their three kids, Ryan, Dylan and Emily. Tommy and Abby met while working together and opening Sweetwater Tavern Centreville in 1996, according to a news release.

After graduating from James Madison University and the Culinary Institute of America, Rush began his career with GAR in 1995 as a kitchen manager at Artie’s. Since then, he has held almost every position, including head kitchen manager, executive chef, and managing partner.

Rush has led the opening of many of GAR’s most popular restaurants, including the first Coastal Flats in Fairfax Corner, followed by Coastal Flats in Tysons and Gaithersburg; Ozzie’s Good Eats; Patsy’s American; Randy’s Prime Seafood & Steaks; Best Buns Bakery & Burgers in Tysons and Springfield; and GAR’s newest fast casual concept Stupid Good BBQ, according to a news release.

“While he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, Tom’s leadership, dedication, and passion for hospitality have been foundational to GAR’s success and continued growth. So much so that he trained me on my first day in 1997. My father wanted me to learn from the best, so he had me learn from Tom,” said Jon Norton, CEO of Great American Restaurants, said in a statement.

Best Buns Bakery & Burgers, which recently celebrated openings in Tysons and Springfield, will feature breakfast sandwiches, handcrafted pastries, and build-your-own burgers, along with popular guest favorites like the Honey Fried Chicken Biscuit. Best Buns Bakery & Burgers also recently announced a new location in Falls Church, the news release said.

The restaurant group plans to raze an existing building at 14100 Whitney Road that was used by a construction company during the construction of the U.S. 29 interchange project several years ago. The building has been vacant for years.

Great American Restaurants purchased the 4.35-acre property for $4.5 million more than two years ago, in October 2023, from the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the state’s transportation agency. The CTB purchased the property in 2008 for $8.7 million, according to county property records.

The restaurant group initially filed its site plan with the county in August 2024, according to county planning records.

County documents show that Great American Restaurants plans to build a 15,827-square-foot restaurant with a 1,444-square-foot outdoor patio space on the site. The patio would be used seasonally and would be weather dependent, according to county planning documents.

The building is planned to be two stories, but the second floor would be used only for office space and storage. The site would also include a redeveloped surface parking lot, according to county planning documents.

Great American Restaurants was established in 1976 in Fairfax City with the opening of the group’s first restaurant. The chain now operates 18 restaurants – 17 in Northern Virginia and one in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Great American Restaurants is entering the Prince William dining scene.

The Northern Virginia-based hospitality group – which operates popular eateries like Sweetwater Tavern and Coastal Flats – announced Tommy’s American restaurant and Best Buns Bakery & Burgers will open in Gainesville at site of the former DMV building at 14100 Whitney Road near Linton Hall Road and Route 29.

A new concept, Tommy’s American is named after Tom Rush, Great American Restaurants’ chief operating officer. Rush is a longtime Gainesville and Haymarket resident along with his wife, Abby, and three kids. The couple met while working at Great American’s Sweetwater Tavern in Centreville in 1996.

“I’m overwhelmed and humbled to see Great American Restaurants opening in a place I’ve called home for over 20 years, let alone it being named after me,” Rush said in a news release. “I can’t wait for it to open and for Tommy’s American and Best Buns to become part of our community.”

After graduating from James Madison University and the Culinary Institute of America, Rush began his career with Great American Restaurants in 1995 as a kitchen manager at Artie’s and has since held numerous positions in the company, including head kitchen manager, executive chef and managing partner.

Rush has led the opening of numerous Great American most popular eateries, including the first Coastal Flats in Fairfax Corner, followed by Coastal Flats in Tysons and Gaithersburg, Ozzie’s Good Eats, Patsy’s American, Randy’s Prime Seafood & Steaks, Best Buns Bakery & Burgers in Tysons and Springfield and the new fast-casual concept Stupid Good BBQ.

“While he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, Tom’s leadership, dedication, and passion for hospitality have been foundational to GAR’s success and continued growth,” Jon Norton, CEO of Great American Restaurants, said in the release. “So much so that he trained me on my first day in 1997. My father wanted me to learn from the best, so he had me learn from Tom.”

Best Buns Bakery & Burgers features breakfast sandwiches, pastries, build-your-own burgers and other sandwiches. Best Buns recently announced a new location opening in Falls Church.

An approximate opening date wasn't immediately available.