BizBash Best 2020 - 191

washington

Festivities aFter Five

photos: noah feCk (spin), Courtesy of punCh boWl soCial, freDDe lieberMan (hook hall)

photos: greg poWers (MoDena), Jennifer hughes (punJab grill), traCey salazar photography (the Cheesebelle)

Have fun off the clock playing ping pong, pool, and more games at these
entertainment spots, bars, restaurants, and hotels.
New York-based ping-pong social club 1 Spin
opened in downtown D.C. in January 2019 as the
concept's eighth location in North America. Spin's
Washington outpost spans 12,000 square feet with
12 Olympic-style ping-pong tables and its own fullservice restaurant and horseshoe bar. The food and
drink menu includes items like crispy shrimp bao
buns and a take on a White Russian. For events, the
playful underground venue includes two private
rooms with space for 70 standing guests, with
customizable catering options and drink packages
available for groups. Events can also be coordinated
with enhancements like communal games; custom
paddles, balls, and decals; or the services of a pingpong pro to organize tournaments. (1332 F St. NW,
wearespin.com)
Ballston's new 2 Punch Bowl Social can hold
a crowd: The entire 25,000-square-foot restaurant,
bar, and entertainment destination can accommodate groups of as many as 1,000 people. Spanning
three stories, this location includes bowling, ping
pong, skee-ball, shuffleboard, foosball, darts, bocce
ball, vintage arcade games, and more. There are
two private karaoke rooms, a lounge called the
Holiday Lodge with a fireplace, a third-floor diner
with a 360-degree bar, and two patios for outdoor
seating and a bocce ball court. D.C. design touches
include patterns that mimic Metro station architecture and the nearby Pentagon along with "Virginia
is for Lovers"-theme decor. Buyouts are available,

or the venue will work with planners to find the
gaming area or lounge that best fits their group.
(4238 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.,
punchbowlsocial.com)
Fairfax at Embassy Row unveiled an extensive
renovation of its ground floor common areas in
December 2018, with a fresh look courtesy of the
Rockwell Group. The hotel's light-filled open areas
include warm walnut wood elements, D.C.-theme
artwork, and an emerald green color scheme.
A glass wall separates the lobby from the Sally
restaurant and lounge, which is outfitted with dark
wood floors and a marble bar with zinc accents.
With a menu of American small plates, the Sally's
capacity is 50 diners. Another new space is the
Nook, a private game and conference room with
space for 28 people. The Nook's decor includes a
pool table, a fireplace, and sectional couches, and
antique mirrors. The Market, a café with graband-go-options, accommodates 70 people. (2100
Massachusetts Ave. NW, fairfaxwashingtondc.com)
As of October 2019, the DoubleTree by Hilton
Bethesda-Washington DC is now the Bethesdan
Hotel. This is Tapestry Collection by Hilton's first
property in Maryland. The 270-room hotel includes
a rooftop pool, multi-use lobby with a pool table
and games, and new venues like a Mediterranean
restaurant called Leo & Liv and a bar called BFD
("But First Drinks...") The property offers 15
meeting rooms and more than 15,000 square

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feet of meeting space. Event space includes the
5,658-square-foot divisible Bethesdan Ballroom,
which can hold 600 for receptions or 250 for classroom-style events. (8120 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda,
Md., tapestrycollection3.hilton.com)

Breath of Fresh Air
Host an al fresco event at venues with terraces, beer gardens, or decks.

There's a new venue for events at Union Market
with AutoShop, a former auto body shop that's
now an industrial space for receptions, meetings,
and more. The industrial space includes an open
main floor and a second level outfitted with flexible
partitions. There's also an outdoor space, with a
terrace featuring views from the Capitol. The venue
holds 400 guests for receptions or seats 200. (416
Morse St. NE, unionmarketdc.com)
Popular outdoor Shaw drinking spot Dacha
opened a sister beer garden in Navy Yard in May
2019, and this outpost boasts a capacity of as
many as 700 guests. Located near Nationals Park
with river views, Dacha Navy Yard offers room
for events large and small. For smaller gatherings, the semiprivate back room dining space with
windows looking out onto the ballpark seats 40
guests or holds 60 guests for receptions. Partial or
full buyouts of the bar and restaurant are available:
A partial buyout can accommodate receptions of

130 guests in the winter or 250 guests from spring
through fall, while a full buyout can accommodate
125 guests for seated dinners or receptions of as
many as 250 guests. (1600 7th St. NW.,
dachadc.com)
There's room for a crowd at Parkview's
13,500-square-foot 1 Hook Hall. The indoor/
outdoor café and tavern includes five different
areas, with zero interior columns. The loft-like
Main Hall features ceilings that are more than
20 feet tall with wall murals. It can accommodate
700 standing guests or 500 seated guests. The
back half of the Main Hall is called the Stern and
seats 200 or holds 400 guests for receptions. The
Outdoor Deck includes cabana seating, a 26-foot
outdoor bar, with room for 625 standing guests or
375 seated. Lounge-like outdoor cabanas seat 12
to 15 guests. Hook Hall's front patio is called the
Gangplank, with room for 50 standing guests or 30
seated. (3400 Georgia Ave. NW, hookhall.com)

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http://www.punchbowlsocial.com http://www.wearespin.com http://www.fairfaxwashingtondc.com http://tapestrycollection3.hilton.com http://www.dachadc.com http://www.unionmarketdc.com http://www.hookhall.com http://www.bizbash.com

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