Smith Commons - modern bistro coming to 1245 H St

Smith Commons, a modern bistro restaurant, will open at 1245 H Street late summer. The owners are currently completing the build out that was started by Andrew Agak when he planned to open an African restaurant called Drew at the building adjacent to the Autozone parking lot and across the street from Granville Moore's.

The building is very nice with three stories and construction is ongoing. When complete it will provide floor to ceiling walls of new windows across the front facade of the building with a good deal of exposed brick and a series of fireplaces in the upper levels, which will be used as lounge space. There is also a sizable back patio off the back of the second level for al fresco dining.

The chef is experienced in Beglian cuisine and will be joined in the kitchen by another chef who is coming over from Beglium, but they do not intend to compete with H Street's popular Belgian bistro Granville Moore's, which is part of why they describe themselves as a modern bistro. The owners took over the lease and liquor license that had been obtained for the previously planned restaurant and hope to open later this summer, but still have quite a bit of interior construction work left before they will be ready to obtain the various other permits necessary to open.