Cocktail Haven Addendum Lives On, Despite Big Changes

Addendum, the bar-in-another-bar that debuted earlier this year at Dupont Circle’s Eighteenth Street Lounge, plans to carry on without its opening team.

Local cocktail guru Lukas Smith, who co-led the original beverage program, has moved on. Starting Wednesday, November 2, he and bartender Jenny Feldt are spearheading a new weekend cocktail den, Ampersand, at Smoke & Barrel's subterranean bar in Adams Morgan.

“Addendum continues on as a unique, bespoke concept within the Eighteenth Street Lounge,” reads a statement from ESL management. “Since its opening, Addendum has evolved along with the desires of our customers.”

Per the owners, the back of the bar has expanded in recent months to include a larger lineup of liquors from local distillers, as well as small batch productions.

“Some of the original concept will live on, like no juices and only a small selection of mixers, such as tonic or soda,” management says.

At the start of 2017, Studio Bar was rebranded as Addendum, pouring its focus into custom ingredients and upscale cocktails served in crystal glassware. The opening marked the end of an era; its former name was an ode to local act Thievery Corporation, which recorded its first tracks there in the 1990s.

Addendum will continue to be helmed by ESL's management team, with Sadira Biv leading the cocktail charge.

“We have exciting news to share soon about a comprehensive beverage program that will bring additional harmony to Addendum and ESL's menus,” management says.