Pop-up restaurants in Washington, DC

Uber Eats’ Washington, DC, US, pop-up is in collaboration with EatOkra and Suite Nation; Sandlot Southeast, a 5,000-square-foot shipping container bar and events space in the Navy Yard neighborhood; and &Access, our community partner advising and leading programming for the pop-up.

Together we transformed the space into a temporary rent-free place for chefs from Black-owned businesses, with access to 2 kitchens and plenty of seating. Chefs have residencies from Thursdays to Sundays; Mondays are community service days. The businesses keep their revenue and are featured on Uber Eats, helping grow their audience and customer base.

This project also gives us the chance to help introduce multiple Black-owned restaurants and businesses to a neighbourhood that traditionally lacks diversity; only about half a dozen businesses on the riverfront out of approximately 115 are Black-owned. We’re honoured to have had so many businesses take part, including Puddin’ (Cajun/Creole food truck), Silver Spring Wings and FishScale (seafood burger bar) to start.

Anyone who tried the culinary creations from the businesses involved received discount codes for food. We hope this pop-up provides a platform for Black chefs to build an audience on the Capitol Riverfront, a springboard for more permanent locations across the neighbourhood.

The restaurants supported by these pop-ups represent just a handful of the Black-owned businesses that have been affected by the pandemic. We want to support similar businesses not just during this period, but also going forward.

Visit the great restaurants we’re supporting in Navy Yard.