About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
The newest addition to Park View, Mr. Braxton, will have a little bit of everything: Burgers. Paella. Taco Tuesdays. After it’s up and running in early June, you’ll be able to drink CBD cocktails and enjoy the occasional live music in a lounge area, or head out to the colorful, greenery-covered back patio for a local brew.
The restaurant and bar comes from couple Shannon Cunningham and Booker Parchment. Parchment is the VP of a telemanagement consulting firm and former co-owner of TaxGuru. Cunningham has worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years as a manager and former partner in Dupont Circle’s Brick Lane Restaurant. Mr. Braxton’s chef, Alex Cantos, also comes most recently from Brick Lane. (UPDATE: Cantos will continue to be chef of Brick Lane.)
The wide-ranging menu ranges from watermelon soup to six different flavors of steamed mussels to rack of lamb with rosemary sauce. The restaurant also aims to have a healthy, “progressive” bent, including CBD cocktails and hemp oil in the cooking. (Among the recipes Cantos is playing with: fish encrusted in hemp hearts.)
Expect daily specials such as Taco Tuesdays, Sunday grill sessions with Italian sausages, wine and cheese nights, and the occasional live music. While the restaurant will just be open for dinner (and eventually brunch), Cunningham and Parchment want to welcome fellow new parents for mid-day happy hour at least once a week. After all, Mr. Braxton is named after their son. “I’ve been calling him ‘mister’ since he was a little baby,” says Cunningham.
The dining room is equally eclectic with vintage touches such as a massive antique window frame decorating a lounge area and a 1940s chamber stove for the coffee station. The owners want to warm up the brick and wood-paneled space with colorful fabrics and a lot of greenery. Local artist Eric B. Ricks is behind the stunning mural that covers the backyard, from wall to pavement. String lights, herbs, and shade sails will complete the 30-seat patio.
“We’re trying to pull off a secret garden, Alice in Wonderland type of theme,” Cunningham says.
Mr. Braxton. 3632 Georgia Ave., NW.
This story has been updated to reflect that the opening has been pushed back to early June.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
