$25K Champagne and a Bar with Bullet Holes at Heist

A new club called Heist opening this weekend in Dupont Circle is going for kind of a spy-inspired, law-flouting theme.

The club comes from business partners Charles Koch (Fly Lounge, which used to be in the same location), Patrick Osuna (Tattoo Bar) and New York night club vet Timothy Sheldon.

"We wanted to do something a little sinister, a little evil, a little underground," said Sheldon. "We weren't thinking so literal, like stealing paintings, but the concept morphed, and when we came up with the name 'Heist', it just stuck. It's such an awesome name. It really invokes danger and precision and attention to detail, too."

They worked with designer Brian Swanson, a veteran of the high-end retail world, to give the club features such as a dark stairway leading down to the action, bronze and gold coloring within the club itself and other details that fit the theme, like a brass bar that's been covered with bullet holes. Some of the artwork collections are kind of out there, Sheldon said, including one with the theme "Divorce the fucker", involving jewelry and gold teeth (yes, that one's abstract). "It's going to make people talk," he said. There's a commissioned work from graffiti artist Alec Monopoly, too.

There's a leather-clad DJ booth at the center of the action, with a golden skull as an accent behind it. A champagne vault displays cooled champagne behind bars, including one that sells for $25,000 a bottle. The space, which only holds eight tables, will be able to be rented out for private events, though they will encourage those on off hours to allow the nightclub to be a nightclub during the evenings. There's no food (or kitchen) at the club, but events can be catered through a partnership with Dupont Circle Hotel.

Desmond Reilly and Kristopher Carr of Keystone Hospitality designed the cocktail menu, which includes drinks named after dangerous people of history, from "The Bonnie" to "Robert the Bruce". The bar uses four types of ice. "At the beginning of the night, we'll be a cool cocktail lounge, and once 12, 1 a.m. rolls around, a high-energy nightclub with bottle service," he said.

DJ Sam French is playing the Friday opening party. The club is located at 1802 Jefferson Place NW.

Heist DC [Official Website]

[Rendering: Heist DC]