Speakeasy & Sports & Pasta = Rx for Great New Restaurant Openings
By • December 7, 2022 0 2690
Paul Brito and partner will open Code RED in Adams Morgan, featuring eclectic upscale food with a nod to the 1930s at 2440 18th St NW where Bom (and before that Millie & Al’s) used to be. The 74-seat speakeasy will even require a code to enter. It’s slated to open in early Q1 2023, by the grace of the permit gods.
But we’re not a bar — we’re a celebration of freedom that transports you back into the Prohibition Era while embracing modernity with classic cocktails, eclectic cuisine, and outstanding service. From the moment you enter until the moment you don’t want to leave, we curate a unique experience that takes you on a journey into the past while breaking the bounds of the present. Make meaningful connections, great conversation, and a bad decision or two at Code RED.
Tom Ryan, creator of Smashburger, opens his latest creation, Tom’s Watch Bar, at 781 Seventh St. NW in Chinatown where Circa used to be, with 300-plus seats, 120 high-def screens, three giant stadium screens and personalized audio at every table. Sports fans will discover “elevated sports bar fare,” as well as a Topgolf Swing Suite — featuring a simulator for virtual golf, hockey, baseball, football, soccer and carnival games. Expansion plans call for additional locations at National Harbor, and near Nationals Park.
Co-owners/chefs/spouses Gabe and Katherine Thompson plan to open Thompson Italian restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria where Hank’s Oyster Bar (aka Hank’s Pasta Bar) used to be at 1024 King Street, by the end of the Q4. Lucy Dakwar, chef de cuisine at their Falls Church restaurant, is the executive chef. Expect Middle Eastern flavors to complement the Italian cuisine, based on her Palestinian heritage. The dining room seats 77 with an additional 20 seats at the bar.
Chef/owner Candice Mensah will open a brick-and-mortar site for her Hedzole, featuring West African food (her roots are from Ghana), at 5505 Colorado Ave. NW where Social Kitchen used to be, in Q1 2023. The intimate space seats 12.
Serial restaurateur Stephen Starr (Le Diplomate, St. Anselm, just in D.C.) and Nancy Silverton (La Brea Bakery, Campanile, Chi Spacca) will take over the Dean & Deluca space in Georgetown Park at 3276 M St. NW, to open an East Coast location of her Los Angeles-based restaurant, Osteria Mozza as well as an Italian marketplace. Stephen has targeted D.C. for expansion and plans to open El Presidente Mexican restaurant in late Q1 2023 and Pastis at Union Market in Q2 2023.
Quick Hits: City Lights of China at 1721 Connecticut Ave. NW in Dupont Circle will relocate to 2443 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan…. A new sushi restaurant will open in Tysons near The Archer hotel, across from Capital One Center.
Bill Fuchs of Wagshal’s market and deli, plans to launch Wagshal’s Grand Bodega in downtown D.C. at 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW filling the shoes of the late, great Breadline, for office catering as well as for bread and pastries. Wagshal’s has a location at 3201 New Mexico Ave. NW and operates Pitmasters Back Alley BBQ at 4818 Yuma St. NW.
Just opened: Ellington Park Bistro at The Gregory Hotel at 2033 M Street NW where Tredici Enoteca used to be with Chef Frank Morales (Oval Room, Zola) at the kitchen helm. Mixologist Taha Ismail (Willard, Zaytinya), directs the bar program.
Linda Roth is Founder and CEO of Linda Roth Associates (LRA), a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the foodservice and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR, #LindaRothPR, or www.lindarothpr.com.
