Business Briefs • Sarah Payne

Business Briefs

by Sarah Payne

Oyster Oyster chef/owner Rob Rubba. Photo: Alexander Padro, Courtesy Shaw Main Streets.

Oyster Oyster: A garden of good eating in Shaw

When a restaurant earns a Michelin star, was a finalist for a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant, gets listed #1 in the Washington Post dining guide and as one of Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants in America, you know you’re in for a treat. Even if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan, the local, sustainable, plantbased cuisine at Shaw’s Oyster Oyster (1440 8th Street NW) is an eye-opener.

Some guests expect a restaurant called Oyster Oyster to be doubling down on the bivalve, but the name is a nod to both oyster mushrooms and the shellfish. The restaurant, which the Washington Post’s food writer calls “a garden of good eating in Shaw,” features a seasonal vegetarian and vegan tasting menu, with an optional oyster offering included.

Rob Rubba, Oyster Oyster’s owner/chef, has been in DC for nearly 10 years, most recently at Hazel in Shaw, after stints in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. Rubba and his business partner Max Kuller connected over the goal of working toward a more sustainable restaurant concept.

“I personally wanted to be a more sustainable human being, and working in restaurants can be very unsustainable in terms of waste and ingredients and can have a big impact on our environment,” Rubba recalled. “Basically, it put me on this track to see if we could build a restaurant as sustainably as possible, but still provide that luxury in life of being able to go out and have a really fun dining experience.”

Local sourcing drives the creation of both the menu and operations at Oyster Oyster. They focus on local produce, from the mid-Atlantic region, cooking with all the ingredients from here and utilizing as many sustainable practices as possible while eliminating single use plastics in our restaurant.

The restaurant’s relationship with the community began in the early days of the pandemic when they were providing take out.

“Being able to provide something comforting for everyone during those hard times in the early days of the pandemic was extremely important,” Rubba remembered. “We got to know a lot of our neighbors.”

He said that the community has continued to be incredibly supportive of their sustainable, local approach to food and described the restaurant’s clientele as a “revolving door” of regular customers coming to dine from the neighborhood. at’s no surprise when that revolving door leads to food by the winner of a RAMMY award for Chef of the Year and a Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef nod.

Oyster Oyster is open Tuesday through Saturday, with tasting menu seatings from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit oysteroysterdc.com.

Ivy and Coney: Midwesterners fi nd a slice of home at Ivy and Coney

If you aren’t from Chicago or Detroit, you won’t immediately “get” the name of Shaw’s bestknown dive/sports bar, Ivy and Coney (1537 7th St NW, second oor), a tribute to the two cities. “Ivy” stands for the vines on

Wrigley Field’s center eld fence and represents the Windy City.

“Coneys” are Coney Island-style hot dogs, which are popular in Motown.

Co-owner Josh Saltzman opened Ivy and Coney in 2014. After relocating to the District from

Chicago, Saltzman and his business partner Chris Powers, from the Detroit area, said they missed the “corner bar culture” of the Midwest and wanted to open a classic neighborhood bar that reminded them of home.

“It’s the most self-serving bar that has ever been opened,”

Saltzman said with a chuckle. “It resonated with lots of other people looking for the same experience— a place to enjoy Midwesterninspired fare and watch favorite sports teams play.” e menu is comprised of Chicago and Detroit favorites, including Chicago-style hot dogs and

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Jake’s Tavern co-owner Todd Ciuba. Photo: Alexander Padro, Courtesy Shaw Main Streets.

Italian beef sandwiches, Detroit style pizza and Lafayette-style Coney dogs. Per Saltzman, their “no frills” approach continues on the drink menu, which does not include cocktails, but does include Chicago’s notoriously bitter Malört, a selection of Midwestern style beers and local options. e bar features a covered deck with a retractable roof.

Saltzman is grateful for the community’s support. “It was pretty immediate when we opened; we were immediately busy,” Saltzman explained. “It’s been a lot of fun just getting to know people throughout the years.”

He said the bar has “two personalities. From Sunday through Wednesday, it’s a classic local neighborhood hangout. ursday through Saturday, the crowd skews younger, toward the “20-somethings.”

But Ivy and Coney’s big nights are when the University of Michigan plays. “For the Michigan games, it’s nuts,” Saltzman said. “If you’re not watching the Michigan game, don’t be there during the Michigan game. It’s on every TV and every single person there is going to be in maize and blue.”

Ivy and Coney is open Monday through ursday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday, 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday, 12 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. Visit ivyandconey.com for more details.

Jake’s Tavern: A Pub for the People

AShaw neighborhood favorite, Jake’s Tavern (1606 7th St NW) features classic pub food and drinks seven days a week. Co-owner Todd Ciuba always bartended and worked in restaurants through college. While working as PGA tour agent after graduating from Catholic University, he and a chef started a food truck together.

When Ciuba, who also co-owns Black Whiskey in Logan Circle, and his wife saw what is now the location of Jake’s Tavern, they knew it would be “a great spot for a neighborhood bar” and named it after their son, Jake.

Jake’s opened in 2019.

“The inspiration was to create a place that people can make their own, have a good meal and an honest drink, meet with friends or make new ones,” Ciuba said. “I’m proud to say it’s turned into our area of Shaw’s neighborhood bar.”

Beverage-wise, Jake’s offers 12 beers on tap, a variety of wines, and house-crafted cocktails. The food focus is elevated comfort food and the menu features many classic bar items including burgers, chicken sandwiches and wings and loaded fries. The house-made tacos are “arguably the best” in DC.

“Our tacos are a hidden gem on our menu,” Ciuba explained. “We feature them every day, but we also have them on special for the obligatory ‘Taco Tuesday.’ We have five or six varieties of very authentic tacos. All the shells are handmade corn tortillas made on site, grilled and served fresh.”

According to Ciuba, the community response has been very positive, and the restaurant has many regulars.

“People have met their boyfriends and girlfriends here and now they’re coming back and wanting to do a wedding reception here, and that’s really exciting. It’s become part of the fabric of the neighborhood, which is both established and growing at the same time.”

The blue and white nautical themed bar also features a back patio with a boat that serves as a bar. Ciuba is planning to open the second floor of the restaurant in 2023 as an event and overflow space.

Jake’s Tavern is open Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday, 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Visit jakestaverndc.com for information on weekly events and specials.

Sarah Payne is a general assignment reporter for Capital Community News. She can be reached at sarahp@ hillrag.com. u