Blank Street Coffee Opened New Foggy Bottom Location

The chain's third D.C. store marks a neighborhood expansion as the firm continues to grow its national footprint.

Updated on Sept. 28, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Modern cafe exterior with glass windows and dark metal trim on a D.C. sidewalk, capturing urban commercial growth. — Blank Street Coffee has opened its third Washington, D.C. location at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave, reflecting the company’s ongoing urban expansion strategy. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Blank Street Coffee has officially opened its new cafe at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. This site serves as the company's third active location in Washington D.C.

Why it matters

The company is expanding its footprint in Washington despite recent local restructuring, including the January 2025 closure of its 14th Street NW cafe. This move underscores a broader strategy of targeted placement following a $500 million valuation achieved last year.

Blank Street Coffee now maintains 100 locations across the U.S. and UK, supported by a $500 million valuation reached last year. The new facility operates with daily hours of 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The players

Blank Street Coffee

A venture-backed specialty coffee chain that has expanded to over 100 locations globally since its 2020 launch.

The details

The expansion reflects the company's venture-backed growth model, which prioritizes rapid deployment in high-traffic urban centers. By securing a space at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave, the firm establishes a presence in Foggy Bottom while simultaneously optimizing its regional portfolio to replace earlier closures.

August 2020: The company opened its first location in Brooklyn.
January 2025: A location on 14th Street NW was closed.
December 2025: Signage indicated the new cafe was coming soon.
September 26, 2026: The Foggy Bottom location opened to the public.

Market Landscape

This expansion follows the pattern of aggressive unit growth typical of venture-funded retail brands that leverage high valuations to secure prime urban real estate. It signals a shift in the local competitive density as the firm recalibrates its D.C. presence.

Operators in the D.C. food and beverage sector should monitor the company's real estate strategy, specifically how it balances new site openings against the closure of existing underperforming locations. Keep an eye on local foot traffic patterns in Foggy Bottom to assess competitive impacts.

The takeaway

The company's expansion highlights the viability of rapid growth models in competitive urban retail. Track the performance of this new site against their historical 14th Street closure to better understand the profitability thresholds for specialty coffee in the district.