During the first weekend of August, Meg Schmitt and Bradley Shorten taped a sign to the door at 2153 P Street NW. It said they were opening for a neighborhood preview and invited people to come by. Schmitt told Eater DC that "we were filled up both nights." The room was the old Duffy's Irish Pub, and it had been dark since the spring of 2025.
Six weeks later and three blocks east, the basement at 1610 20th Street NW reopened as First Round Bar & Social. This is the room where Bruce Springsteen and the Ramones played when it was the Childe Harold.
West of the circle this fall, both of the old barrooms came back as barrooms, with the late hours that come with that. The other new openings on the same blocks are counters for juice, smoothies and coffee. If you live here, the west side now runs on two clocks, and it helps to know which address is on which.
A Sign in the Door at 2153 P Street
The Duffy's room had a slow ending. In June 2025, PoPville reported that the pub had been closed for about four weeks, and a reader said it needed kitchen repairs. Duffy's own site said the Dupont location was "closed until further notice" and needed "serious repairs." By November 26, 2025, PoPville reported that the P Street liquor license was officially dead.
La Merna opened there on Thursday, August 13. It serves Chicago tavern-style pizza: a cracker-thin crust cut into one-bite squares. Shorten and Schmitt are Chicago transplants. He came from a pizza background, and she ran a nationally distributed cheese company. The ricotta, mozzarella and stracciatella are as central to the menu as the pies. Schmitt spent a few weeks in Bologna learning the pastas, including ravioli with ricotta and 'nduja and fried gnudi in vodka sauce.
Here are the numbers Eater reported at opening:
- Pies: $22 to $30, including a giardiniera and sausage pie Shorten recommends
- Pastas: $14 to $32
- Cocktails: $14 to $16, inspired by Midwest supper clubs, including a tomato martini with pickled sungolds
- Hours at opening: Thursday through Sunday from 5 p.m., closing at midnight Thursday and 2 a.m. on the other nights
The owners described the weekend hours from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. as the late-night side of the restaurant. They also planned a late-night menu with two Juicy Lucy burgers, one classic American and one Italian with taleggio and pancetta. The hours above are from August, so check the restaurant's site before planning a late Thursday.
The room has done more than come back to life. Resy put La Merna at No. 12 on its October Hit List, after the same spot on its September list. The Infatuation's review gave it an 8.5.
The couple's next project is next door. They planned a weekend-only sandwich window by October, starting with Italian beef and a thick-cut hot salami sandwich with garlic cheese spread, pepperoncini and mustard, a nod to Schmitt's St. Louis upbringing. In March, PoPville reported the name Saints Way Sandwich Shop at 2155 P Street NW, marked "Coming 2026." Look for a light in the 2155 window before you walk over hungry.
The Room Under 20th Street Has Had Five Names
The 20th Street basement has turned over many more times than the Duffy's room. Most of that history comes from a 2023 Washingtonian piece.
| Name | What it was | When |
|---|---|---|
| Childe Harold | Saloon that hosted Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt early in their careers | 1967 to 2007 |
| Darlington House | Italian restaurant | After 2007, closed by 2023 |
| DIVE | Bar | Closed by 2023 |
| Step-Childe Harold | Pub with fish and chips and shepherd's pie, plus fusion dishes | Opened spring 2023 |
| First Round Bar & Social | Neighborhood bar, food from the restaurants upstairs | Mid-September 2026 |
When Step-Childe Harold opened, Washingtonian reported that its operators planned to book rising musicians and keep the space's beams and exposed brick largely untouched. First Round's own site calls itself "formerly known as Step-Childe Harold" and says it is carrying forward the room's history as a gathering place, with "a subtle Japanese influence." The PoPville opening notice listed a launch night on Saturday, September 12, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Across five tenants, the room has almost always been a place to drink late. The food has changed many times.
The Kitchens Behind Both Bars Point in Opposite Directions
The two rooms solved the food question in opposite ways, and that shapes what each one is for.
La Merna makes nearly everything itself. Its dough ages for nearly a week, and its cheeses come from Schmitt's own training. That makes it a dinner booking with a bar attached. Reservations are on Resy and went fast when it opened.
First Round has no kitchen of its own. Its dishes come from the two restaurants upstairs, Ko Japanese Dining and Sabai Thai Lao, so the bar menu runs Japanese and Thai-Lao alongside sake, beer and cocktails. That makes it a weeknight drop-in. According to Eater DC's September openings roundup, happy hour runs 5 to 7 p.m. with $10 pomegranate martinis and $6 Sapporos. Trivia is every Tuesday and Thursday, and karaoke started on Wednesdays in October. Matchmaking parties and late-night comedy are also on the schedule. The bar's site promotes Thursday pub quizzes hosted by Sporcle Events at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Put together, the west side now has a reservation-worthy pizza room on P Street and a no-plans basement bar on 20th, three blocks apart. Both stay open well past the hour when the daytime businesses nearby have locked up.
Meanwhile, the Daytime Side Filled In With Counters
The other openings near these two bars this fall keep daytime hours.
- Pure Green closed its 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW location on August 16, telling PoPville it would reopen in the neighborhood. By October 20, PoPville reported it officially open across the avenue at 1605 Connecticut, in the former Zeleno space, selling juices, smoothies and açaí bowls.
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe was open by late September near P and 22nd Streets NW, next to Compass Coffee, serving smoothies, wraps, flatbreads and bowls, per PoPville. That puts it a block from La Merna.
- Dupont Market at 1807 18th Street NW was planning to add lattes and coffee within about three weeks of an October 2 PoPville report. The same report said the owner planned to pause alcohol sales for about six months before renewing them.
So on the stretch of P Street near 22nd, the corner store side of the block is pushing toward coffee while La Merna's old pub room serves until 2 a.m. That split is the most practical thing to know about the west side right now.
A Week on the West Side, Starting Thursday
Daytime and late night overlap best on weekends, and the next few weeks bring the neighborhood's outdoor calendar right to their doors.
- Thursday nights: La Merna opens at 5 p.m., based on its opening hours, and First Round runs pub trivia.
- Saturday, October 31, noon to 3 p.m.: The Dupont Circle BID's Music in the Circle series holds a Halloween and bluegrass set in Dupont Circle Park.
- Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: The FRESHFARM Dupont Circle Market sets up on 20th Street NW between Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues, at 1600 20th Street, on the same block as First Round's door at 1610. It runs year-round through December 27.
- Saturday, November 7, noon to 3 p.m.: Too Much Talent closes out the fall Music in the Circle series.
- Thursday, November 12, through December 23: The DC Holiday Market returns to the 1500 block of New Hampshire Avenue NW for its third year, with art, jewelry, ceramics, vintage pieces and handcrafts. It is produced by Diverse Markets Management with the Dupont Circle BID, and this year it opens on a Thursday to give six weekends of shopping.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the bluegrass set in the circle and La Merna's weekend late night land on the same day. The Sunday market on 20th Street sets up a few doors from the Childe Harold's old staircase.
I keep a running list of which west-side doors are open, which ones are still papered over, and whether 2155 P Street ever starts serving Italian beef. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of these blocks, or you want to talk through what's changing near your own address, reach out to Jen Angotti. Let's talk about your next move.
