About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Metrobar. 640 Rhode Island Ave NE.
The railcar bar is open 4 PM daily until close.
A 5000-series train is one of the main attractions at Metro-themed cocktail garden Metrobar. But since the venue opened in 2021 near the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood station, no one has actually been able to board it. The process of retrofitting and permitting an out-of-service railcar with a bar inside hit some unexpected delays, which, frankly, is very on theme. Now, two years later, they’re finally able to say—cue the voice of Metro—doors opening.
Owners Jesse Rauch, founder of the District Karaoke league, and John Groth, founder of DC Bocce League, conceptualized the idea for Metrobar on a napkin over happy hour at Wet Dog Tavern in 2019. Would a Metro railcar be too tight to add a bar? They quickly Googled the dimensions; Groth happened to have a measuring tape on him and asked the bartender if he could get behind the bar to size it up. They later brought construction vet Matt Weaver on as a partner to help bring the idea to life.
The resulting bar isn’t so different from those initial scribblings, but the logistics have been tricky. For example, a 75-foot train is too long to actually move through city streets. So they ended up cutting it in half, gutting tens of thousands of pounds of mechanical equipment, and mounting it on two trailers to get it from a lot outside Baltimore to its current home.
Once on site, they added plumbing, new electrical equipment, lighting, HVAC, an audio-visual system, and an indoor-outdoor DJ booth. The original chairs—reupholstered in “Potomac blue”—remain, with some flipped backwards to form booths. Two-top tables line the other end of the aisle for a total of 38 seats. Meanwhile, the 22-foot walk-up bar takes up the other half of the car with flip-up windows so outside customers can order from the covered platform. Hexagon floor tiles and a concrete-esque bartop nod to the architectural design of Metro stations. One thing the owners haven’t reactivated, at least for now, are the motorized doors, which can be a little aggressive. When the bar is open, the doors are open. Seating is first-come, first-served.
The new railcar bar will expand on the venue’s existing drink menu, and the team is developing new cocktails that will be served in actual glassware. Current themed cocktails include the “Blue Line Chill Rickey” and “Last Stop” spicy margarita, alongside a lineup of beers, ciders, seltzers, and wines. Food trucks feed the crowd, though bar-goers can also bring their own food (nearby Bryant Street Market food hall is popular). Metrobar also holds a ton of events, from live jazz to trivia to Women’s World Cup watch parties.
One of the best new touches, however, is that Randi Miller—the longtime “voice of Metro”—has recorded announcements: “Attention, riders, this is last call. This is last call for Metrobar. This train is now out of service.”
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.
