USA, Washington DC: Right Proper Brewing Company to open its third location in D.C.’s Eckington neighborhood

Locals will get another option for beer off the Metropolitan Branch Trail with the opening next year of a new Right Proper Brewing Company location in D.C.’s Eckington neighborhood, DCist reported on December 14.

The new brewery, Right Proper’s third location, will be located at 1625 Eckington Place NE, about a block from the trail. The expansion marks a boon for the local beer scene, which has seen some growth in recent years with the addition of new breweries and the buildout of established ones, but also a few prominent closures.

Right Proper hopes to open the brewhouse in the fall of 2024, co-owner Leah Cheston says. Cheston and her partner, Thor Cheston, are eager to be opening another brewery in the city, she said in an interview with DCist/WAMU.

“We feel like we just have a real opportunity with Eckington,” Leah Cheston says. “Being a part of another community, another neighborhood in D.C. — because each neighborhood has its own identity and its own feeling about it — so to be a part of another one is very exciting.”

Right Proper Brewing opened its first location 10 years ago in Shaw. The beer company is known for its diverse, ever-changing selection of craft brews but also mainstays like the dry-hopped pale ale, Raised By Wolves, and the American-style light lager, Senate Beer. The Shaw location is an easygoing brewpub that hosts neighborhood events, including block parties and pop-ups. The second location in Brookland, which opened in 2015, is the company’s largest production spot, with its 15-barrel system.

The Eckington location will have more of a restaurant feel to it, says Cheston, though it will still host a 7-barrel brew house — a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows will show that brewing operation. All Right Proper beers will be served at the new location, however the beer brewed at Eckington will be traditional-style ales and lagers. The 5-barrel system at Shaw will continue to focus on wild fermentation beer (think the sour-like Foveal Vision), while the Eckington one will pilot more common styles of beer before some move into mass production at Brookland.

The new spot hopes to spotlight the food of Jonatan Bohr, the executive chef of the Shaw location, says Cheston. Expect Right Proper staples like the fried chicken sandwich, peanut Thai chili brussel sprouts, and beer-battered cheese curds. The Eckington location will also have a seasonable menu, serving American cuisine with a nod to Southern comfort, plus its beloved beer and cheese pairing.

Right Proper in Eckington hopes to be a gathering place for the neighborhood, and it will have the space to host community events. The 180-seat restaurant will have a dining room, bar, and a mezzanine area prime for lounging and playing board games. It will be located in the Quincy Lane development and face a pedestrian-centric street known for hosting local happenings, including an upcoming holiday market.

The Right Proper team decided to open a third location, despite all the challenges with opening a business these days, because they had the right location and lease, according to Cheston. “It had to be the right fit,” Cheston says. “We have been approached a few times through the years, and it never felt exactly right.”

Right Proper sees a lot of opportunity at Quincy Lane, a development from prominent real estate group JBG Smith that includes townhomes, condos, apartments and retail space. The closest restaurant to Quincy Lane is The Pub & The People, which is a few blocks away, so Right Proper would help “fill a void there,” says Cheston. She also hopes climbers from the nearby Bouldering Project stop by, as well as the bikers and joggers from the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

The beer company’s expansion comes amid speculation that it would close its Shaw location over an increase in crime in the neighborhood. Right Proper has a year left on its lease there, according to Cheston. She acknowledged it has operating challenges, including public safety and sanitation issues but also the increased cost of goods and labor, but they ultimately hope to stay open in Shaw. She and her team will make a decision within the next year, she says.

“We hope that it’ll stick around for another ten years,” Cheston says. “We’re working very hard, very creatively.”

Meanwhile, Right Proper hopes to start construction in Eckington in March and to open by October of 2024. The beer company is excited to expand again in the District in part because it makes it easier to transfer the beer between locations. Plus, they love their city, the owners say.

“The Eckington location will allow us to further our mission of being the beer for people who call Washington, D.C., home,” Thor Cheston says.

14 December, 2023