Big news on this fine Friday: The much-discussed, lady-friendly sports bar from Chris Bukowski of Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad 3 fame will take over the space at 1210 North Garfield Street in Clarendon that formerly housed Burapa Thai.
Opening this summer, the place will be an “upscale, state-of-the-art sports bar, with wit and irreverent charm,” according to press materials. “Chris is redesigning the way the sports bar is perceived,” a rep told us this morning, “with hip, female friendly, modern, fresh food and drinks with a twist.” DC architecture firm Hapstak & Demetriou will be tackling the interior.
The menu will feature healthy small plates. Originally, the team behind Cava and Sugo Cichetti were reportedly involved, though Cave Mezze Group’s Ted Xenohristos told Eater in December that he and his partners were never officially onboard. Sugo was the site of an event announcing details of the project back in September.
While Bukowski’s team is not ready to announce a chef, rumors persist—despite a denial from his rep—that Spike Mendelsohn is involved. That’s probably due in part to the fact that Jeff Greenberg—an investor in Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery who showed up on Life After Top Chef with Mendelsohn—is also a partner in the sports bar, as is Nicole Pettitt, who works for Greenberg. Greenberg is also a Cava investor.
You may recall that back in December, Bukowski published a phone number on Twitter where fans could call him and vote on what he should call the new bar. The original options were: Buk & Doe, Bracket Room, In Theory, Over-Under, ChangeUp, Rolecab, and Topher. Later, the choice was narrowed to ChangeUp and Bracket Room. According to the rep, the vote was so close that Bukowski took it back to the branding team at HZDG in Rockville, and ultimately they decided on Bracket Room. Bukowski also has plans to incorporate one or more of the charities he supports into the project. We will share an updates on that, plus that chef situation, once we have them.
