Shaw Is Getting a Late-Night Hangout for Fried Chicken and Fresh Oysters

Prolific Arlington bar owner Scott Parker has revealed the plans for his first D.C. restaurant, Roy Boys, which will sell fried chicken and fresh oysters out of the Shaw storefront vacated by Boston burger chain Tasty Burger.

Parker owns millennial-targeted bars Don Tito (Clarendon) and A-Town Bar and Grill (Ballston). The latter plans to close on Tuesday, January 1, and flip as a new brand.

Back in October, Eater broke the news of Parker’s deal to take over the former Tasty Burger in the Atlantic Plumbing building at 2108 8th Street NW.

Chef Will Sullivan, most recently chef de cuisine at Clarendon’s Green Pig Bistro, will spearhead the kitchen at Roy Boys. Frank Mills, a Jack Rose alum, will man the bar with a lineup of daily bloody marys and oyster shooters.

Parker tells Eater he was locked in on Shaw for his debut restaurant in the District.

“It’s an amazing neighborhood with tons of changes,” he says.

If D.C. diners dig the concept, there could be more Roy Boys on the horizon.

“I’m definitely looking to do more in D.C. ... but of course that depends highly on the success of this first location,” he wrote to Eater in a follow-up message.

Parker says he won’t mess with existing interior elements of the former burger stand — the space is only 2 years old — and says most of the changes will be cosmetic. The seat count will stay around 60.

Tasty Burger’s take-out window will be revived at Roy Boys, with fried chicken sandwiches and buckets served from dinner time until 5 a.m. to capitalize on people looking to chow down after last call. The dessert menu also plays with drunk food, with homemade ice cream tacos in the works. After the first 60 days of dinner service, Parker plans to add lunch and brunch.

Along with a raw bar slinging oysters on the half shell, the bivalves will be prepared in other ways, like a fried oyster sandwich. Happy hour will run seven days a week from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.