Adults who are nostalgic for their adolescent days of eating sloppy joes, paddling canoes, and sneaking over to the girls/boys' bunk will soon have a new place to drink. The BBQ Joint chef and owner Andrew Evans is teaming up with restaurateurs Ian and Eric Hilton to open a yet-unnamed summer camp-themed bar in a former delivery dock at the Maurice Electric Building at 500 Penn St. NE, near Union Market.
This is the second venture where Evans has partnered with Eric Hilton. The two recently opened a location of Evans' Maryland-based barbecue restaurant at 14th and U streets NW.
The camp restaurant, however, won't serve any barbecue. Rather, Evans plans to server camp staples like spaghetti and meatballs, hot dogs, sloppy joes, mac and cheese, strawberry shortcake, s'mores bread and butter pudding, and ice cream sandwiches.
Evans says he never went to camp, but his kids have. He's also done some research: "I literally went to camp sites and read the menu," Evans says.
While the food will be simple, Evans plans to add a bit of his chef-y touch. Grilled cheese, for example, will use a nice cheese blend (not American Kraft Singles) and fresh bread from Lyon Bakery. "Everything will be elevated to what my standards would be," Evans says. That said, he hopes nothing will be be over $10.
One thing that won't be so elevated: enormous bowls of sugary cereals. "I guarantee I'll be the only bar in America where at 10 o'clock you can or a bowl of Lucky Charms," Evans says.
Joe Reza, co-owner of American Ice Co., is also a partner in the business and will oversee the design, which will likely include things like canoes hanging off the ceiling.
Evans says they hope to open the bar sometime around mid-May.