inside 410 7th Street, NW photo by Chris Bryan
From a press release:
“PubKey, the celebrated Greenwich Village “Bitcoin bar” where conversations around the future of sound money, monetary policy and technology flow as easily as the drinks, will open its much-anticipated DC flagship location at 410 Seventh St. NW in Penn Quarter on Dec. 19.
The 12,000-square foot space – the former Hill Country – represents a major expansion from PubKey’s 2,000-square-foot NYC location. The two-story space will allow PubKey DC to bring to life a welcoming, irreverent pub with a media studio, event stage and speaker series on cutting-edge topics across freedom tech and policy, a private dining room, community events such as trivia and karaoke and chophouse-style restaurant opening in the new year, all under a single roof.
Inspired by the historical role of taverns as free-thinking hotbeds for revolutions,
PubKey’s founders – Thomas Pacchia, a former derivatives lawyer who was one of Fidelity’s earliest Bitcoin subject matter experts; Megan Pacchia, a former McKinsey partner; Andrew Newman, a former BlackRock private equity investor; and Greg Minasian, a former film producer and entrepreneur – launched the bar in New York’s West Village in 2022 as a convivial gathering place for Bitcoiners and leading financial, policymaking and cultural voices to gather, ideate, innovate, debate and collaborate.
PubKey DC will have the same “free and open to the public” ethos as its sister location in NYC. In the coming months, PubKey will launch a range of events, including fireside chats through the Gemini Live @ PubKey event series, weekly Bitcoin series with new speakers each Wednesday, trivia nights hosted by Capital City Showcase, karaoke, comedy, art and dance parties, and more.
At a time when Washington lawmakers and policymakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly focused on digital assets, PubKey DC will be committed to providing a nonpartisan space for dialogue, debate, and exchange. The original New York location has welcomed President Trump, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D), Rep. Ann Wagner (R), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, alongside Bitcoin-native voices such as Michael Saylor, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Michael Novogratz, Anthony Scaramucci and countless BTC native founders and CEOs.
Chef Alexis Samayoa, formerly of DC’s beloved Espita, New York’s La Esquina, and Starr Restaurants, has created the opening bar menu for PubKey, featuring elevated, tavern-style staples, such as the Chop Cheese, inspired by the iconic New York bodega sandwich, “Stek Frets,” a ribeye served with a lemon-herb butter and potato wedges fried in tallow, Chicken Tendies and a Half-Smoke, a nod to PubKey’s new home, as well as other tallow-fried bar food.
In the coming weeks, a business lunch menu, served Monday-Friday and aimed at the busy Penn Quarter 9-5 crowd, will feature dishes such as King Salmon with butternut squash, a classic Caesar, and Braised Short Ribs with Yukon mashed potatoes. And in the first quarter of 2026, after the opening of the bar and media studios, PubKey will also launch a stylish, meat-forward chophouse helmed by Samayoa.
To drink, PubKey will offer an array of draft beers, uniquely well-made versions of classic cocktails such as The Washington Place, an Old Fashioned with hints of bergamot, the Cydonia, a rose-flower Cosmo, and the PubKey NYC icon The Pleb – a Bitcoin reference that’s a play on a classic negroni sbagliato, this one with Miller High Life, Campari and sweet vermouth. Feeling spendy? You can also order the mysterious Orange Pill Whale, an ever-changing tiki drink that comes with all sorts of swag, priced at $100, and payable only in Bitcoin.
PubKey DC was designed to echo the feel of a rustic tavern, making for a “Cheers”-like environment for happy hours, drinks before or after a game at nearby Capital One Arena, and other gatherings. Fans of the former Hill Country will be surprised and delighted to see small details preserved, including iron-work and exposed brick, while modern touches such as metal work inspired by blockchain patterns, a sprawling screen for game-watching and distinct U-shaped bar add new life to the space.
Pubkey will be open 11am-1 am Sunday-Tuesday, and 11am-2 am Wednesday-Saturday. In keeping with its ethos, PubKey will accept cash and credit, with Bitcoin preferred.”
Flashback to Hill Country in early 2025:
FLASHBACK to 2009:
