H Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, the buffet-style restaurant at 400 Elden Street in Herndon Centre, is changing its name to Iron Flame Korean BBQ & Hot Pot. The Burn reported the rename on Oct. 5. Since then, a company called Iron Flame 20170 LLC has received a county food permit for the space, and applications for a state beer and wine license have gone in under the Iron Flame name.
Signs at the restaurant and posts on its social media accounts said in early October that a renovation would start in about three months, around the new year, and promised “a fresh new look, an upgraded menu, and more flavors to enjoy.” The restaurant has not named any new dishes. H Pot remains open under its current name in the meantime.
A new company holds the county food permit for 400 Elden Street
Iron Flame 20170 LLC applied for a Fairfax County food establishment permit at 400 Elden Street on Oct. 11, and the county issued the permit about ten days later. Applications to Virginia ABC for a beer and wine license list the business as Iron Flame Korean BBQ & Hot Pot.
One of them asks to keep operating under the restaurant’s existing license while ABC reviews the new one. ABC calls that a continuance of operation permit. It lets a different operator run a licensed business for up to 120 days, with the current licensee’s consent, while its own license application is pending.
A new company, a new county permit and a continuance application match what a new owner would file, though the same owners could also form a new company for a rebrand. Neither H Pot nor Iron Flame has said publicly whether the restaurant is changing hands.
H Pot opened in 2024 in the former ACE Learning Center space
FFXnow reported in April 2023 that H Pot was coming to the roughly 6,000-square-foot space ACE Learning Center had used, and the restaurant opened in 2024. Diners grill Korean barbecue at their own tables or share a communal hot pot, and the menu covers both. FFXnow noted at the time that few Fairfax County restaurants offered both under one roof.
H Pot is open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to its website.
Mr. Wish closed its Herndon Centre shop, and a frozen yogurt and boba shop is coming
Elsewhere in Herndon Centre, the Mr. Wish boba shop at 472 Elden Street has closed. A sign on the door said the owners had sold the shop, thanked customers for their support over the last three years and wished the new owners well, The Burn reported on Oct. 2. A “coming soon” sign in the window lists frozen yogurt, boba and more. The new shop has no public name or opening date yet.
The other Mr. Wish in town, at Elden Street Marketplace farther along Elden Street, is a separate location and remains open.
Herndon Centre sits on Elden Street at the edge of downtown, on the route buyers drive when they tour the older neighborhoods around the town center. Both storefronts are staying in food service: H Pot is renaming in place, and the Mr. Wish space already carries a new shop’s “coming soon” sign. If you are thinking about buying or selling near downtown Herndon, reach out to us.
Featured photo courtesy of H Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot.
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