UPDATE: They are opening to the public on Friday, December 8, not this Friday as I originally wrote.
Whoa, this was fast! A few months ago I wrote that Acre 121 would be replaced by a cycling-themed bar from the Hilton Brothers, who perform as Thievery Corporation and have opened a bunch of bars and restaurants in the city: 18th Street Lounge, the Gibson, American Ice Company, Ten Tigers, the Brixton, Satellite Room and more.
And now Barred in DC reports they’re opening Friday, Dec. 8 as Bar Roubaix! I thought something was up, as Twitter user MrTinDC said that the Washington Area Bicycle Association was having a party there on the 13th. He also spotted a variety of bike frames out front, maybe they’re building something out of town (pictured above.)
Bar Roubaix also tagged me in a tweet, saying “great beers, European street food, cycling culture.” Sign me up.
Thanks to some internet sleuthing, Barred in DC found that the food may include döner kebab, spanakopita (phyllo stuffed with feta and spinach), German potato pancakes and zapiekanki, which is a French baguette with mushrooms and cheese.
They found that the chef is Rafael Nunez, formerly of Eatonville at 14th and Florida, and the GM is Arturo Zaloga, who managed the bar at Mezcalero at 14th and Spring and also worked at Marvin, El Rey and the Brixton, all Hilton-owned places.
A few months ago I talked to someone affiliated with the owners of the building, who said they plan to rejigger the interior to make it a bit more bar-friendly, as it was sort of an awkward space. They also plan to make the patio more open and patio-like, it was under a big tent before. As you can see above, they’ve removed that tent.
This all sounds awesome to me. Acre 121, if you recall, was southern coastal cuisine with a pretty good brunch, and before that the space was CommonWealth, a pretty tasty British gastropub from Jamie Leeds of Hank’s Oyster Bar.
Roubaix is a town in northern France that’s the end of the Paris-Roubaix bike race.
Here’s their Facebook and Twitter.
Coming soon.
Great beers, European street food, cycling culture. #ColumbiaHeights pic.twitter.com/D0fvgIp7Df
— Bar Roubaix (@roubaixdc) November 29, 2017
