Retail Hub Modeled After Union Market Planned For H Street

A pair of shuttered restaurants on H Street could be transformed into a food hall-style project with stalls for local entrepreneurs.

A trio of partners has acquired five lots on the Northeast D.C. retail corridor and plans to develop an indoor-outdoor concept with spaces for 12 tenants, with tentative plans to include vendors like a rum bar, yoga studio and tattoo parlor. 

Feldman Ruel Managing Principal Ian Ruel and his partners, Jonathan Askarinam and Mohammed Pishvaeian, purchased the property at 1355-1359 H St. NE in a deal that closed Friday, Ruel told Bisnow.

Ruel, in his capacity as a Feldman Ruel broker, brokered the acquisition on behalf of Askarinam. The buyer pitched the vision for the project to Ruel, who said he “got excited and decided to invest as a passive investor” in his personal capacity.

Larry Hoffman and Bryan Davis from H&R Retail represented the seller in the deal, which Askarinam told Bisnow was for $2.2M. The deed transfer hasn't yet been recorded in public records.

The ownership entity filed an application with the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment to combine the lots earlier this month. 

The storefronts had previously been home to Brine, a seafood restaurant that closed last November, and Biergarten Haus, a beer hall with a large outdoor space that closed in the summer of 2023 after a decade. 

The owners are planning to keep the structures the same but renovate the interiors to combine the properties and create a walkway through the buildings leading out to the back alley on Linden Court.

The application with the BZA describes the concept as “similar to Union Market but on a smaller scale.”

Askarinam told Bisnow that it is envisioned not so much as a food hall but as a “neighborhood center,” given the wide array of vendors the owners hope to attract and a more complex indoor-outdoor layout where patrons can move between spaces. 

“The vision for our place is to create a vibrant destination, neighborhood destination, that combines all retail: restaurants, bars, fitness and an event venue,” he said.

The project is expected to total just over 15K SF across two levels, with a first-floor patio space and a 3,700 SF event deck.

The partnership is looking for first-time entrepreneurs, and the plans filed with the BZA show tenant spaces ranging from 220 SF to nearly 2K SF.

“We saw H Street as a place that has always been for entrepreneurs,” Askarinam said, citing it as the first location of &pizza and noting other successful restaurants like Daru and Hiraya. 

“So we saw a lot of really successful entrepreneurs on H Street, and we thought, how can we further this along and try to bring some improvement to the street?” he said. 

With about half the stalls hovering around 300 SF, he said it is the perfect place for small businesses to get their footing without worrying about too much overhead and maintenance. 

No deals are finalized, but Askarinam, whose family owns Johnny Pistolas in Adams Morgan, said the partnership is nearing an agreement with a rum bar concept that is expected to offer 100 different rums and Puerto Rican-inspired curated cocktails.

He also said they want to make sure to get a coffee shop in the space and hope to offer an “elevated” barbershop.

The new concept is swimming against the current of storefronts that have closed up shop over the past few years on H Street.

DC Harvest ended a decade-long run in the area at the end of last year with a statement saying, “Unfortunately the neighborhood has changed and nobody is coming out.” Vegan diner Sticky Fingers closed this past winter.

East African restaurant Hakuna Matata closed earlier this month after opening in the summer, and Mediterranean spot Sospeso shuttered this spring after seven years of service.

Modern vegetarian eatery Fancy Radish closed last October, although a new concept from the team behind popular H Street Indian restaurant Daru is planned to open in the space.

Askarinam said he doesn’t think H Street is any worse off than anywhere else in the city.

“I think it's an amazing neighborhood, and it's going to continue to develop, and we see great promise there,” he said. “I think a lot of people, what they'll try to do is go into neighborhoods that are pretty successful already, such as Union Market, but we feel that we find more opportunity in neighborhoods that are still developing, such as H Street, and are coming along.” 

Jon Banister contributed reporting for this story.