1020 7th Street, NW
More temporary closures until Spring. Next up Morris American Bar:
“Morris American Bar will be temporarily closing Monday, January 5th as we plan for an exciting next chapter 🩵 We can’t wait to welcome guests to this new space come spring. Thank you all for the incredible memories over the years— many more to come!”
We first learned about Morris during a preview at The Sheppard(!!) back in 2016. At that time we learned:
“Morris American Bar is opening in Shaw at 1020 7th Street, NW in mid May to early June. This bar is a collaboration between Chef Spike Mendelsohn, his business partner Vinoda Basnayake, and Bartender and Beverage Director David Strauss. Morris will be under full creative control of Strauss, and marks a reunion for he and Mendelsohn. The two were friends while Strauss was living and working in upstate NY and Mendelsohn was attending the Culinary Institute. About 8 months ago the group decided to renovate and reopen The Sheppard [1337 Connecticut Ave, NW], a Dupont circle Speakeasy bar, this time under Strauss’ guidance. Immediately after the collaboration a hotel purchased the building and stopped all plans from moving forward. Undeterred, the group then turned their attention to a property in a Shaw and began planning Morris. Morris will be a larger version of it’s speakeasy predecessor and will have all the great parts such as hand crafted cocktails, an entirely homemade ice program, no standing room, candlelit spaces, and live jazz, but will lose the speakeasy entrance and rules. It will also move from barely 40 seats to just above 70 and will increase it’s bar space and staff to compensate.”
Updates as we learn more about their “next chapter.”