At 13th and H, two Bullfrog Bagels locations share one corner. The blue food truck parks on the 13th Street side of 1300 H Street NE, next to the entrance for The Baldwin, and serves Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. A few steps away, in the old Mozzeria space at the same address, the storefront still had "coming soon" signs in the window on September 29. So the bagels started before the shop did, and you can buy one now from the curb.
Most of the eastern end of the corridor works this way this fall. Across the 1200 and 1300 blocks, the businesses that opened, moved or announced plans this year mostly skipped the usual model of one tenant behind one door. They went downstairs or upstairs, onto the curb, into stalls in someone else's building, or onto another business's menu. That changes how you read the blocks. A dark window may not mean a vacant space, and an address can hold two or three businesses that open on different schedules.
Below the Sidewalk at 1301
The clearest example is under 1301 H Street NE. Dirty Rhino is a 200-person basement live-music venue that leans mostly country and opened with a lineup of bands already booked. Eater DC reported that it debuted during the H Street Festival and opened for good on Wednesday, September 23. The opening date moved more than once. The first announcement said September 9, and later signs moved opening night to Friday, September 18. The launch announcement also promised line dancing and live-band karaoke.
The building explains why the venue sits underground. Owner Chris DeFelice used to run Dirty Water, the bar upstairs, which now has new owners. He also ran Rhino Bar in Georgetown, which closed years ago. Eater quotes him calling the new room "not fancy, but also not divey." So 1301 now holds two bars on two floors with two sets of owners, and both trace back to the same operator. The programming is already regular. A Thursday residency listing had an acoustic show on October 1 from 9 to 11 p.m.
Above the Storefront at 1320
Across the street, 1320 H Street NE is splitting by floor too. Hangry Joe's is gone, and PoPville reported on July 24 that its "temporary" closure had turned permanent. Mike's Seafood Boil is listed as coming soon in the street-level space and bills itself as "Seafood boil, ready in minutes." A licensed cannabis dispensary is listed as coming soon upstairs.
The address's history shows how much has changed. Before Hangry Joe's, the space was home to Taylor Charles Steak & Ice, Sally's Middle Name and Thamee, one restaurant at a time. The next version is set up as two businesses on two floors. Neither had an opening date as of the latest report, so for now both are signs, not open businesses.
Moving Up the Block at 1224
Jerk at Nite is moving east on the same street. Its 1100 H Street NE location was stripped and advertised for lease by mid-May. On September 24, PoPville reported Jerk at Nite signs at 1224 H Street NE, the former Sticky Rice space, with a Jamaican and Caribbean restaurant pitch and "STAY TUNED" instead of an opening date.
This one is a standard storefront, but the move points the same way. The business stayed on H Street, left the 1100 block and landed one block from the 1300-block cluster. It's also a reminder that a sign on this stretch can stay up for months before the doors open.
On Someone Else's Menu at 1335 and 1337
Two businesses next to the Atlas Performing Arts Center went the opposite direction this year. Instead of adding floors, they moved inside other businesses.
Paste & Rind's cheese boards and monthly cheese club came back through a partnership with Henceforth at 1335 H Street NE, with boards starting Friday, April 17. The brand is still on the block, but on another business's counter.
Next door at 1337, Hush Harbor had been closed for weeks by mid-May. Washington Business Journal reported it was switching to pop-ups after less than a year on H Street. Eater DC's May closings roundup said the plan included a summer move into Manifest at Union Market. Those plans date from May. We found no later report confirming how they turned out.
Seven Buildings Behind 1355
Nesso Plaza takes the stacking idea further than any other project on the block. Jonathan Askarinam bought seven buildings on and behind the 1300 block, including the former Biergarten Haus at 1355 H Street NE. He plans about 20 tenants in indoor and outdoor stalls, with a rooftop. In an April 2026 report, UrbanTurf said the tenant mix was meant to serve the neighborhood, with a fitness center, coffee shop, nail salon and barber alongside places to eat. Tenants already signed were described by type only: a coffee roaster, bakery, ice cream parlor, plant shop, Pilates and yoga studio, and tattoo parlor. The project won Board of Zoning Adjustment approval in 2025, and construction was underway inside the old Biergarten space.
The schedule has slipped. PoPville's March 2 post gave a target of "Fall of 2026." UrbanTurf's April report moved it to "early next year," which in practice means early 2027. The official Nesso Plaza website still says "Coming Soon" with no date. Even the size isn't settled. An earlier leasing brochure projected 14 commercial tenants, and the April report said about 20. One reported rooftop tenant, Fenway Garden, isn't confirmed. Barred in DC reported in July that Nesso Plaza representatives called that claim false and said no agreement existed.
The plan is a barber, a coffee counter and a bakery in stalls under one roof. That is roughly what the corridor used to provide one shop at a time. A few blocks west, Hillman and Son Barbershop at 1106 H Street NE had been cleared out by July 21. Albert Hillman retired after more than 60 years on H Street. If Nesso opens as planned, a barber chair could come back to the corridor in a shared stall, after six decades in a storefront of its own.
Where Each Address Stood in Early October
Since so many of these businesses share space or are still waiting to open, the most useful thing to know is each one's status. Here is where each address stood as of October 3, 2026, based on the most recent reports we found.
| Address | Business | Arrangement | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1224 H St NE | Jerk at Nite | Moved from 1100 H St NE | Signs up, no opening date |
| 1300 H St NE | Bullfrog Bagels | Food truck on 13th Street side | Open Wed–Sun, 7 a.m.–1 p.m. |
| 1300 H St NE | Bullfrog Bagels | Storefront in former Mozzeria space | Coming soon, no date |
| 1301 H St NE | Dirty Rhino | Basement venue below Dirty Water | Open since September 23 |
| 1320 H St NE | Mike's Seafood Boil | Street level | Coming soon, no date |
| 1320 H St NE | Licensed cannabis dispensary | Upstairs | Coming soon, no date |
| 1335 H St NE | Paste & Rind at Henceforth | Partnership inside Henceforth | Boards and cheese club since April |
| 1337 H St NE | Hush Harbor | Moved to pop-ups | Closed on H Street since spring |
| 1355 H St NE | Nesso Plaza | About 20 stalls across seven buildings | Under construction, early 2027 target |
Five of the nine rows are open or operating in some form. Four are signs. On these two blocks, that ratio is normal for now.
The Venue That Holds the Block Together
Next door to all this turnover, at 1333 H Street NE, the Atlas Performing Arts Center has a full fall calendar. Several resident companies share its stages, which is another version of the same model, just older. Capital City Symphony performs "Mysterious Landscapes" on Sunday, October 4, at 5 p.m. Solas Nua's "Crocodile Fever" is on October 17. The American Pops Orchestra's Dolly Parton tribute follows on October 24, and VOCA Deaf BIPOC Solo Shows III runs October 29 through 31. Capital City Symphony's family concert is November 15. Constellation Theatre Company stages "The Old Man and The Old Moon" from November 19 to December 13. Atlas has also announced its 2027 INTERSECTIONS festival for February 12 through March 7, 2027. That would overlap with Nesso Plaza's target opening if the early-2027 date holds.
An Atlas evening this fall can include a Dirty Rhino set afterward. A morning before a Sunday matinee can start at the Bullfrog truck, which serves until 1 p.m. on Sundays.
Getting to 13th and H Without the Streetcar
This is the corridor's first fall in about a decade without the streetcar. DDOT ended DC Streetcar service on March 31, 2026, after cutting Sunday service in January. DDOT now points former riders to Metrobus, including the D20, and to WMATA's Trip Planner. For now, the bus is the way to reach the 1300 block from Union Station without walking the whole length of the corridor.
A longer-term option is in planning. A WMATA committee document dated May 14, 2026, describes a proposed "Gold Line" bus rapid transit concept. It would run in dedicated center lanes on H Street and Benning Road between Union Station and the RFK and Kingman Park area. WMATA presents it as a replacement and improvement over the streetcar. For now it is a planning concept, with no service date. The eastern end of H Street, where Nesso Plaza and Dirty Rhino sit, is the stretch a center-running line along H Street and Benning Road would cover.
When a single H Street address holds a basement venue, a street-level restaurant and an upstairs dispensary, each with different owners and opening dates, it raises practical questions about leases, mixed-use buildings and the value of nearby rowhouses. If you own on or near the corridor and want to understand what this year's changes on the 1200 and 1300 blocks mean for your property, Omnia Real Estate can walk you through it. Schedule a personalized consultation.
