WASHINGTON, DC—DC's Chinatown continues to attract new restaurants and retailers, with the latest example being the local restaurant group Passion Food Hospitality. The company inked a 8,324-square foot lease at 700 6th St., NW, to open an American tavern-style restaurant. CBRE arranged the least.
The move highlights not only Chinatown's appeal-to say nothing of the nearby Verizon Center-but also the growing industry trend of casual dining in the District, according to CBRE's John Filipos. This has been "leading to increased retail leasing activity from restaurants in the past year," he says.
The restaurant group will build and operate a restaurant and bar called Penn Commons at the building, which delivered in 2009 and went on to become one of DC's first LEED Platinum Core and Shell-certified office buildings. The restaurant's opening is slated for late summer. The partners behind Passion Food, Chef Jeff Tunks, David Wizenberg and Gus DiMillo, opened their first restaurant, DC Coast, in 1998 and have since opened Acadiana, Burger Tap, & Shake, Ceiba, and PassionFish.
Filipos represented the building owner, USAA Real Estate Co. CBRE's Harry Dematatis and Mark Teitelbaum represented Passion Food Hospitality.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
