About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
When Pierre L’Enfant mapped out his blueprint for DC, he planned three public marketplaces. Eastern Market was one of them. And soon, one of its counterparts, Western Market, will be revived. The building across from the original 1800s site will be transformed into a modern-day food hall in Foggy Bottom.
The project from Westbrook Partners, MRP Realty, and Baltimore-based Cana Development will include a dozen vendors at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest. The building is already home to Bindaas, Duke’s Grocery, Captain Cookie & the Milkman, Paul, and Chipotle. Among the top attractions will be a new all-day cafe, bar, and restaurant from the team behind Elle in Mount Pleasant. Owner Nick Pimentel says they’re in the early planning stages, so there’s no name yet. “Jokingly we call it Elle light… It’s going to be like a mini Elle,” he says.
The new space will be about half the size of its sister restaurant and split into two sections with a bakery on-site. Favorites such as kimchi toast, breakfast sandwiches, and guava turnovers will carry over, and chef Brad Deboy is playing around with potential new items like tarte flambées. Lunch and dinner menus will likely be more similar than they are in Mount Pleasant.
Also coming to the food hall: Annapolis-based Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls and vegan Israeli fast-casual restaurant Shouk.
“The majority of our vendors end up being very, very locally connected,” says Michael Morris, Principal of Cana Development. “We’ve already shown with this first group the kind of direction we’re taking. We love to see destinations. We want to see vendors that are doing things unique in this market.”
More vendors will be announced in the coming months. Western Market is expected to open in late 2020.
Western Market. 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
