The long line at Dacha’s flagship location on April 8. (Photo by Rachel Kurzius)
On a beautiful April Saturday afternoon, I walked down 7th Street near the Shaw Metro and stumbled upon a long line of people that stretched halfway down Q Street NW. They were all waiting to get into Dacha Beer Garden (or, as some apparently call it, “the cage of white people”).
That line is either going to get shorter or find its twin on 14th Street, where Dacha is planning to open a new location near the intersection with S Street NW, according to a filing with the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. It’s just a stone’s throw away from another beer garden, Garden District, located on the same street. The news was first reported by Washingtonian.
That’s not all that’s in the works for Dacha. The beer garden is opening up another location right by the entrance to Nationals Park, leasing space on Potomac Avenue SE right by beer garden Bardo. Since opening in 2013, Dacha has also launched a market/cafe next door to its flagship in Shaw.
But not all that’s happened under the watchful eye of Liz Taylor has been positive—Dacha fought against the local ANC in its efforts to expand in 2015, leading the owners to threaten to sell the business and cut staff in half, though the neighborhood and the establishment ultimately reached a deal by that November that including having Dacha pay one of the largest fines in D.C. liquor licensing history, per Barred in D.C.
Not all is well in the neighborhood, though. Residents claim Dacha has reneged on its promises by serving hard liquor and operating over capacity.
The forthcoming location on 14th Street NW is a applying to be a “Class C Tavern,” meaning it can sell beer or wine along with food offerings. Its application says it’ll be serving “American fare” to a total occupancy load of 600 people, including a sidewalk cafe with 150 seats and a summer garden with 450 seats.
The spot, 1740 14th Street NW, is currently a parking lot.
Rachel Kurzius