“Robots need not apply” reads the recent ad for staff positions at the new BRC Gastropub at the corner of North Shepherd and Blossom. Hey, didn’t that building use to be a funeral monument and gravestone sales center? Reader photos show it ready to come to life — almost directly across the street from that former pool hall refashioned into Branch Water Tavern.
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Owners Lance Fegen and Shepard Ross — who run the the valet-parking showcase Glass Wall restaurant in the Heights, call BRC a “revolutionary American Gastropub.”
- All positions brc gastropub, an innovative new restaurant concept, seeks… [Backpage]
- BRC American Gastropub [Facebook]
- Previously on Swamplot: What About the Cushions?, More Signs of That Shepherd Restaurant Scene Coming to Life
Photos of BRC Gastropub, 519 Shepherd Dr.: Swamplot inbox
As if “gastropub” wasn’t enough annoying & cloying hipster terminology, now we have a “revolutionary American gastropub?” I feel like I’ve been teleported to Williamsburgh, Brooklyn.
Big Red Cock. Worst restaurant name EVER.
Brooklyn? Who hates Brooklyn?
I love the Glass Wall! I hope this place is as comfortable and good!
We promised that BRC wouldnt be for everyone! Sounds like our wishes will come true. Jackson..great question about Brooklyn…I loved my childhood up there!
BRC? Buzzword Restaurant Concept? Overpriced bar food…just what we need. A burger place across from the iconic burger stand in the heights…just what we need. Inevitable, unnecessary valet..just what we need!
Crowner…keep talking. You are wrong on 3 factual points. And your opinion is just that… knowing that I would take a stab at it and say you might have an axe to grind.
So there are Two places here.
And all this time I thought Branch Water Tavern was the name the owners chose after deciding “Gastropub” was a Horrible (!!) name.
What a bizarre amount of hate out there for people opening restaurants. I guess we should all invest in McDonald’s franchises to keep everyone happy. Not sure what’s wrong with the idea of opening new places that offer fresher food in a nicer environment. Maybe a nice massage parlor or check cashing place would be anathema to the neighborhood, but a nice place to eat for families? Why don’t we direct our angst and attention to fighting crime in the heights. I would hope this blog would be a constructive place to exchange ideas on how our neighborhoods are evolving. Unfortunately, the dialogue seems to have de-evolved. Voice of reason…signing off.
Seriously, I am very interested in checking this place out when it opens :)
With so many bars opening up on Washington in such a short period of time, I see the addition of quality restaurants as a good counter-balance to help stabilize the recent development–keeps it more sustainable.
Look forward to giving it a try–anybody know when it will be open for business?
Fortunately for Crowner, the world needs dbags too…
Wishing Lance, Shepard and the rest success with their new venture.
FYI, I have lived on Blossom St. all my life. Before BRC, and the headstone place for graves, it was known to the locals for at least 50 years as Mimi’s Beer Joint. I wish the new owners success and hopefully the patrons will find other places to park rather than in front of my house.
Big Red Cocks!
I arrived 15 minutes ahead of my date, plenty of two-tops available, so put in my name and sat at the bar and ordered a $70 bottle of wine. when she arrived, we went to that maitre d’ to be seated. he told us no tables were available, although several were open, but he told us we could eat at the bar. When I asked if he could seat us at one of the available tables, he told us we’d have wait. When I expressed my displeasure at their apparent mis-communication and poor customer service, he followed us to the bar and antagonized and argued with me the entire time. We soon left and I’ll never go back. The worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant. This all occurred early on a Wednesday evening. Washington douche-bag attitude with a low-rent, concrete floor ambiance.