National Chain Luke’s Lobster’s New Downtown Shop Opens February 16

Lobster roll provider Luke’s Lobster is adding a downtown location to its growing family of D.C. restaurants on Friday, February 16, further raising the New England-style seafood stand’s profile inside the District.

To celebrate the arrival of the newest storefront at 800 17th Street NW, the New York-based chain plans to offer samples of its lobster mac and cheese, and will give customers who visit the restaurant during opening weekend a chance to win free food for a year.

The casual eatery, which first debuted in the area in early 2011, currently sells its lobster-, crab- and shrimp-filled creations locally in Penn Quarter and Georgetown. Additional outposts are sprinkled up and down the East Coast (stretching from Maine to Florida) and reach as far west as Las Vegas. Luke’s has also spread internationally, planting a half dozen (and counting) outposts in Japan.

The forthcoming store by Farragut Square is projected to operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week.