Union Square Cafe Inks Deal in DC

Property Group Partners president Jeffrey Sussman Wednesday said he’d clinched a deal with restaurateur Danny Meyer to build the first Union Square Cafe outside of New York (stateside) in the Capitol Crossing building taking shape along the 200 block of Massachusetts Ave. NW.

Sussman told Washingtonian that PGP is partnering with Union Square Hospitality Group to install a version of the five-time James Beard Award-winning, no-tipping-allowed restaurant on the ground floor of the planned mixed-use property.

“That’s gonna be our anchor restaurant,” Sussman said of the major get.

The high-profile construction had, at one point, been rumored to be the future home of another hospitality gem: Mario Batali’s Eataly.

That noise eventually died down after years of inactivity. (The other major no-show: Wagamama)

Meyer and USHG have previously shared other dining experiences with D.C. denizens, including the half-dozen Shake Shacks that now dot the local landscape, as well as Nats Park-specific food stalls (including fan favorites Blue Smoke and Box Frites).

The structure theoretically housing Union Square Cafe is slated for completion in 2018. The remainder of the complex is expected to crop up through 2022.