Shaw Shops Offer Freebies to Benefit Ivy and Coney’s Building

The building that houses beer-and-brats favorite Ivy and Coney is competing for a crucial preservation grant to update its aging facade, and to help garner votes, neighboring Shaw bars are pushing freebies — from booze to doughnuts — all this week.

Built in 1881 as a blacksmith shop at 1537 7th Street NW, the restoration of its historic exterior “will turn a hidden treasure into a gem in the middle of a neighborhood undergoing an incredible transformation,” according to the campaign page. Nonprofit Shaw Main Streets is behind the local charge.

The Shaw site is up against 24 other cities’ eye sores that are vying for a piece of preservation funding from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Each project that lands in the top 10 will score a $150,000 grant.

Supporters can vote five times every day through October 31, and the winners will be announced November 2.

To rally for D.C.’s placement in the “Partners in Preservation: Main Streets” contest, local bars are rolling out the following events and promotions (where attendees will be registered as voters):

Monday, October 23: Free beer at Dacha Beer Garden, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; 1600 Seventh Street NW

Tuesday, October 24: Free doughnuts at Sugar Shack, all day; 1934 Ninth Street NW

Raffle for $50 Beau Thai gift certificate at BKK Cookshop, 12 p.m to 10 p.m.; 1700 New Jersey Avenue NW

Wednesday, October 25: Free beer at Right Proper Brewing Company, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 624 T Street NW

Thursday, October 26: Free beer and corn dogs at Ivy and Coney, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 1537 Seventh Street NW

Photo: Ivy and Coney