Artfarm to Open First U.S. Fish Shop in Washington, D.C.
By Nick Trombola July 12, 2024 1:09 pm
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Artfarm’s Bonnie now lies over the ocean.
The U.K.-based hospitality and development company is opening a Washington, D.C., location for its popular Fish Shop brand, a Scottish-style seafood restaurant that debuted last year in Ballater, Scotland.
Artfarm signed for 11,315 square feet at 610 Water Street SW at The Wharf, a 3.5 million-square-foot, mixed-use development in southwest D.C. owned by Hoffman & Associates and Madison Marquette. Asadoorian Retail Solutions brokered the deal, according to the Business Journal.
Artfarm has contracted Rand Construction to build out the space for the restaurant, which will feature a total capacity of 300 and is expected to cost $6.5 million, per Business Journal. The restaurant is expected to open early next year.
Founded in 2014 by entrepreneurs Iwan and Manuela Wirth, Artfarm is helmed by CEO Ewan Venters, who also serves as CEO for the Wirth’s international art gallery, Hauser & Wirth. Venters was previously CEO of London department store Fortnum & Mason.
Alongside Fish Shop, Artfarm owns a number of other small restaurant brands around the U.K., such as Durslade Farmhouse in Somerset, England, and The Audley Public House in London. The company made landfall in the U.S. back in 2016 with the launch of Manuela, a farm-to-table restaurant attached to Hauser & Wirth’s gallery in Los Angeles’ Arts District
Representatives for Artfarm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fish Shop is far from the only restaurant concept, or law firm for that matter, attracted to The Wharf lately.
Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão inked a 7,500-square-foot lease at 698 Maine Avenue SW earlier this year. Barbeque joint Kinfolk Southern Hospitality meanwhile opened at the waterfront development last year.
Nick Trombola can be reached at NTrombola@commercialobserver.com.
