Duke鈥檚 Grocery, the East London gastropub with a popular burger menu, did not last long at its new Navy Yard spot, closing about two years after opening the Half Street location in Southeast D.C.
Duke鈥檚 owners have replaced it with Problem Child, a bar with cheap drinks ($4 for Miller Lite or Coors Light), free popcorn and a bar menu with wings, tater tots, smash burgers and baby back ribs.
Why the pivot? Baseball fans don鈥檛 necessarily all want what restaurants are selling.
鈥淎fter two years, we came to better understand what our guests in Navy Yard were looking for. The sales matrix was different than our other locations, so we embraced that with Problem Child, as a bar that serves food, (not a) restaurant that serves drinks,鈥� said Duke鈥檚 Grocery managing partner Daniel Kramer.
鈥淧roblem Child is the divey, comfortable bar every D.C. neighborhood should have 鈥� about having fun in a relaxed, chill environment with solid food options,鈥� he said.
The Navy Yard Duke鈥檚 Grocery closed for several weeks to remodel.
And the name Problem Child?
鈥淲hile I think it鈥檚 generally a douchey move to name a bar after yourself, in this case I thought it was OK,鈥� Kramer said.
The menu also includes a PBBJ (peanut butter, bacon and jelly sandwich) for $12. Most bar menu prices are under $15. The bar menu has a short list of beers on tap and in cans, beer buckets, Jell-O shots and cocktails.
Problem Child opened April 4 at 1201 Half Street in Southeast, with the same indoor and outdoor space Duke鈥檚 had.
The original Duke鈥檚 Grocery opened in Dupont Circle on 17th Street in Northwest in 2013. Duke鈥檚 Counter in Woodley Park opened in 2016, and another Duke鈥檚 Grocery location opened in Foggy Bottom in 2019. A new Duke鈥檚 location opens in Potomac this week.
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