October just got a lot creepier. The much-hyped Halloween pop-up bar PUB Dread opened this weekend in Shaw, and the masterminds at Drink Company have once again left no detail overlooked. Nightmares come to life in the form of creepy dolls, giant insects, velvet-lined coffins, and other horrors in the spaces at 1839-1849 7th St. NW.
Fans of the team’s past pop-ups won’t find any cherry blossoms, Christmas bulbs, or Iron Thrones, but the cocktails are as solid as ever—and the scares are tame enough to make sure no one spills a drink. There is no full menu of bar eats, though pumpkin seeds, salami, Bugles, and Oreo lollipops will cure the munchies.
PUB Dread will run through October 31st, and here are five reasons to up the brave the predictable long (like, sometimes hours) wait.
1. Dread with a personalized touch. Drink Company crafted four themed bars based on their staff’s worst fears. Whether it’s a gnarled tree that sees all in the Haunted Forest, a bloodied collection of children’s toys in The Dollhouse, the cracked tombstones and multiplying centipedes in the Crypt, or the black glimmer of the solar system and neon lights in the David Bowie bar (more on than later), there are plenty of options to frighten everyone. Don’t miss the little details while you drink—every inch of space has a picture-worthy cobweb or blood spatter. For a prime photo op, make sure to step into a coffin.
2. Cocktails that get in on the surprises. A bevy of candy-inspired (and very sweet) drinks, all $14, by senior bar manager Paul Taylor nod to familiar horror flicks and come decked with sweet edibles or costume accents like clown noses, spider rings, and plastic fangs. The Dead Will Walk the Earth, a tequila and charred pineapple sipper, is bloodied with red simple syrup. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Bettlejuice and its nonalcoholic counterpart, the Pull and Peel soda ($7), is a strawberry ode to the Twizzler. Saturday Night Live’s David S. Pumpkins inspired a namesake featuring rum, pumpkin spice, and coconut. A peanut butter cup shot ($7) is exactly what it sounds like. We recommend the Wanna Play a Game, which channels a root beer float with vanilla and the sweetness of clarified milk. There are also fall beers on tap—DC Brau’s Oktoberfest lager and Southern Tier’s Pumking—and wine if you don’t want to shell out $14 for a cocktail. You’ll have to relinquish your ID to use one of the specialty skull tiki mugs. If you break one, the staff might give you a hard time, but promises not to make you brave the horror of the DMV.
3. Dolls with a backstory you’ll wish you didn’t know. There’s Betty, a doll with glowing eyes who swings above the bar. Hundreds of mutilated others line the shelves. But none have given Drink Company’s CEO Angie Fetherston as much of a fright as Cordelia. After gathering dolls from thrift stores and two nuns on Craigslist, Fetherston experienced two personal hauntings. Cordelia has interfered with Fetherston’s electronics, causing her phone to type out messages on its own and her computer screen to turn to static. “She also moves around,” Fetherston says. “She’ll show up in new places and none of us have moved her. The dolls take the cake.”
4. There is a tribute to David Bowie. If you need a break from the downright creepy, wind your way to the gothic glitz of the bar inspired by Bowie. A psychedelic mural of the star, disco balls, and flickering neon lights set the mood as homespun cotton candy sweetens the air. Why Bowie? The masterminds behind the bar are big fans. Drink Company has never been orthodox about holidays, says bar owner and president Derek Brown.
5. Halloween costumes will totally be a thing. You can still get in the door without one, but even the bartenders mix drinks dressed as goblins, witches, and ghosts. “People are kind of screwed that they only get to dress up one day a year,” says Brown. “Why not prolong the holiday for the entire month?”
PUB Dread will be October 1 through October 31. Hours are Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
