Neighborhood Eats: 7 Restaurants and Harris Teeter to The Yards; Fire at Hook

• June 30th 2011

by Rebecca Cooper

Easily the biggest restaurant news of the week broke bright and early Monday morning, when Forest City Washington announced that a Harris Teeter grocery store, along with seven restaurants, will take space at The Yards in Southeast DC.

Harris Teeter will be a boon to existing residents of the ballpark neighborhood, but its doors are not expected to open until 2013. As for restaurants, Potbelly and Kruba Thai and Sushi (from the owners of Regent Thai) are expected to open in the first quarter of 2012 in the Foundry Loft apartments, which plans to be leasing by this fall at 201 Tingey Street SE. Neighborhood Restaurant Group, whose ever-growing portfolio includes 14th Street's Birch and Barley, will open two concepts in “late 2012” in the Boilermaker Shops: a Buzz Bakery, and a yet-to-be-named microbrewery.

Also in the shops will be an Austin Grill (casual Tex-Mex fare) and brb - be right burger, which is emphasizing an all-natural, chemical-free approach to beef patties. Huey’s 24/7 Diner will also take space in the retail shops. These three restaurants are aiming for Fall 2012 openings.

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Closed...for awhile: In what we’re hoping doesn’t turn out to be a devastating summer trend, another restaurant was damaged by fire in DC yesterday. This time, the blaze struck at Hook on M Street in Georgetown, causing damage to the back of the restaurant and spreading some smoke and water damage to sister restaurant, Tackle Box. DCFD put out the fire in about 20 minutes, and owner Jonathan Umbel is saying he doesn’t think it started inside the restaurant. Both Hook and Tackle Box are closed indefinitely for repairs, however.

Tuesday also brought sad news that Tune Inn on Capitol Hill, which was ravaged by fire last week, will be closed for the rest of the summer, with owner Lisa Nardellis saying the best she can hope for at this point is reopening in 10 weeks. The restaurant and dive bar needs to completely gut and rebuild its kitchen before it can open.

Opening: The latest restaurant opening on U Street is scheduled for July 1, when Lost Society is expected to hold its grand opening at 14th and U Street NW. The second-floor “boutique steakhouse” has a large rooftop patio, a lengthy cocktail list, and their bases covered when it comes to steak: marinated, bacon-wrapped, and horseradish-crusted are some of the options. Check out the menu here.

Opening...soon: The local guys behind the Pork Barrel BBQ empire took home the top prize at this past weekend’s Safeway BBQ Battle in downtown DC, winning Best Overall honors out of a pool of more than 50 pitmasters. Their sauces and rubs are already available at stores throughout the area, but their first brick and mortar restaurant in Del Ray is “getting close“ to opening they have revealed via Twitter.

Events: Lots of restaurants around the Mall are offering relatively reasonable specials throughout the weekend, but if an upscale fireworks-watching event is what you crave, Odyssey Cruises has you covered with a $199 fireworks cruise. That fee includes dinner, dessert (with a chocolate fountain), and dancing -- although from the looks of it, the $199 doesn’t include an open bar.

If $200 plus the cost of drinks doesn’t appeal to you, how does $20 sound? Jackie’s in Silver Spring will be holding a backyard barbecue on their patio from 2 to 6pm on July 3. Twenty dollars gets you beer-can chicken, Mexican corn, watermelon, and squash kabobs, not to mention access to all the desserts people bring to the picnic's bake-off.

Rebecca Cooper is a freelance journalist and avid eater that has contributed to TBD, DCist, and Washingtonian. If you have any tips about restaurant or bars openings or closings, email Rebecca at coopscoop@gmail.com.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/neighborhood_eats_7_restaurants_and_harris_teeter_to_the_yards_fire_at_hook/3740.