Lucky Buns Is Adding Another D.C. Location — and Doing Lunch for the First Time

Budding burger chain Lucky Buns officially has a second D.C. location in the works, and founder Alex McCoy also reveals the Adams Morgan restaurant will soon debut lunch service and a special late-night weekend menu.

Expansion details for location No. 2 are slim for now, with the Duke’s Grocery alum and pop-up dining vet declining to disclose the ETA or neighborhood he plans to plant the next D.C. location. He’s also currently looking at spaces in New York City and Philadelphia for fast-casual versions of his colorful and carnivorous destination, which turns one this fall at 2000 18th Street NW.

Lunch service is projected to kick off on Monday, August 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, large salads, and curry rice bowls in the mix. Takeout and delivery options will follow.

And after eight months of taste testing behind the bar, Lucky Bun’s first full-blown cocktail list will be unveiled on Saturday, August 4. Every Friday and Saturday going forward, customers can expect live music and fare from a rotating lineup of D.C. chefs. The new late-night cocktail party — dubbed “Medianoche” — is slated to run from 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Lucky Buns chef and D.C. native Ryan Hackney, who came on board this year, is drawing inspiration from his hometown to create the first late-night menu. There’s fried chicken slathered in D.C.’s iconic mumbo sauce and a pork and beef half-smoke with rice reminiscent of many late-night visits he’s amassed at Ben’s Chili Bowl.

McCoy and Hackney are also busy running the concessions lineup at Field House DC, the 42,000-square-foot outdoor venue located outside D.C. United’s new Audi Stadium.

Meanwhile, McCoy is still searching for a permanent address to house his longtime Thai kitchen pop-up Alfie’s.

“It’s simply a matter of finding the perfect space. [Alfie’s] is my baby. My heart and soul,” he says.

His dream setup is “majority” indoor-outdoor “to really capture the experience of eating on the street in Thailand, shophouse style,” he says.

• Devour Burgers From Around the World at Lucky Buns [EDC]