Bluestone Lane, a trendy Australian-style chain cafe, opened its first D.C. location Friday.
The location, just north of Washington Circle at 1100 23rd St. NW, is the small chain’s largest cafe yet with their new 2,200 square feet space. The shop is one of Bluestone Lane’s few full-service cafes, where customers can grab coffee and pastries at the counter or sit and be served by a waiter.
Menu items mirror their other locations and include their most popular items like toasts piled high with toppings, cold pressed juices and countless coffee drinks, with beans available to go as well. The menu items are all focus on healthy alternatives and many options are vegetarian or gluten free.
The spot is know for the classic avocado smash ($13) topped with cherry tomatoes, feta, sunflower sprouts and extra virgin olive oil with the option to add a poached egg for $3 or smoked salmon for $6. You can also wash it all down with a cold pressed juice, like portsea juice ($9) made from kale, ginger root, apple and more fruits and vegetables, or classic orange juice ($4.50).
The coffee shop has a following in several cities with outposts in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Andrew Stone, a marketing director at Bluestone Lane, said that a D.C. location was requested by their regular customers.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from D.C. residents who visit our New York stores and we feel that we’re bringing something new and much-needed to this vibrant community,” Stone said.
While the menu items are currently served at other Bluestone Lane locations, Stone said they will be working with local food suppliers in the future to add “new flare” unique to their D.C. menu.
The shop’s coffee options include single origin coffee, espresso and several lattes with both regular milk and almond milk, which they call “wellness lattes.” Flavors come in coffee shop favorites like matcha ($5) or out of the box flavors like beetroot ($5) and a flight option to sample three flavors ($10).
The new cafe is attached to the newly renovated West End Public Library, which opened in December after five years of construction. Stone said the space’s developer reached out to the team at Bluestone Lane and after touring the space, the team decided it was the perfect spot for their first location in the District.
The cafe’s huge wall-covering windows and sleek interior was designed by architect Enrique Norton and can seat up to 70 guests, stretching far larger than many coffee shops in the area.
The interior features a white wallpaper with leafy green accents, tons of natural light and bright mint green and gold accents that are found on the chairs and in a mosaic panel behind the coffee bar. Bluestone Lane also has an earthy element to it, shown with small plants throughout the shop. The cafe will also have outdoor seating in the summer.
Hours for Bluestone Lane are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the hours will be extended during the summer months.
