This article was co-written by Michael Stein.
Late last year, Right Proper celebrated their tenth anniversary in Shaw, and announced plans for another location, a brewpub at 1625 Eckington Place NE, in the Quincy Lane development near the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Per a press release from the brewery, “While Right Proper beer from all locations will be served here, the beer brewed in Eckington will focus on traditional-style ales and lagers and provide a pilot opportunity to test beers on a smaller system before producing them on a larger scale at Right Proper Brookland (920 Girard Street NE), which opened in 2015. This allows the expansion of the wild-fermentation-in-barrel program in the Shaw location” (625 T Street NW). Right Proper’s production facility in Brookland is a 15 barrel system, Shaw’s is 5, and Eckington will add 7 more barrels to Right Proper’s brewing capacity. Right Proper anticipates a Fall 2024 opening with a menu similar to the one at Shaw and will have a restaurant feel according to co-owner and co-founder Leah Cheston.
With construction slated to begin in March, Cheston believes Right Proper Eckington will open in October. There are of course the DC Department of Health, Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, Department of Buildings, Tax and Trade Bureau, and similar inspections and licenses to hold that could hamper a fall opening. But some things are certain; Eckington will have a 7-barrel brewing system, 7 brite tanks, and a canning line.
The brewery produced just under 5,000 barrels in 2023, which was their largest production number thus far. According to fellow co-owner and co-founder Thor Cheston, Raised By Wolves pale ale accounts for about 60% of the beer brewed at Brookland, followed by Senate at 30%, and Lil’ Wit at 10%. Big Tomorrow, a 7.2% ABV west coast-style IPA, is about to come online as another flagship; look for cans soon.
Big Tomorrow, which relies on Briess’ Synergy Pils malt for its base and “is bursting with grapefruit, lime zest, ripe stone fruit and pine needles,” is part of a set of moves designed to advance retail sales off-premise. Also forthcoming is a seasonal program, starting with an Italian style Pils called Super Carina, 5.4% ABV. All cans will get an artistic refresh in 2024, as DC Brau’s did last year, starting with the seasonals.
The Chestons looked at between 5 and 7 locations before deciding on Quincy Lane in Eckington, a few blocks south of Lost Generation. “It’s a neighborhood brand, a brand for neighborhoods. We want to be where people live,” says Thor. With 700 units in the development above them, Right Proper Eckington is also meeting the area’s dining demand. While Right Proper Shaw seats 157, Eckington has a mezzanine and a few more seats, though less standing room at the bar. The brewery is a good neighbor in Shaw, working with An Indivisible Art Collective, and will partner with an art studio in Eckington as well, along with a farmers market from March until at least July. “We built our brand one farmers market at a time,” adds Thor.
At present the plan is to give the 5 barrel Shaw brewhouse entirely over to wild, sour, mixed fermentation, and foeder-aged beer; there is no space for this in Eckington. Here’s where it gets interesting. The end of leases factor into the closure of Denizens’ original Silver Spring location, Beltway Brewing, and The Bruery’s DC location among other businesses over the past year (technically a five-year lease for The Bruery). The Shaw brewpub has an 11-year lease that is up in early 2025, and is the focus of rumors, including in the first piece by a DC media outlet on Right Proper’s expansion, from DCist.
“The beer company’s expansion comes amid speculation that it would close its Shaw location over an increase in crime in the neighborhood. Right Proper has a year left on its lease there, according to [Leah] Cheston. She acknowledged it has operating challenges, including public safety and sanitation issues but also the increased cost of goods and labor, but they ultimately hope to stay open in Shaw. She and her team will make a decision within the next year, she says.”
WSJ
The Wall Street Journal article linked in the quote above notes, “The owners of Right Proper Brewing, a T Street anchor for the past decade, said they will move the brewpub when their lease ends unless there is a drastic improvement in conditions, including with public drug use.” Lest one think this is just a negotiating tactic with their landlord, the article also quotes the building owner. “‘People don’t want to come hang out in Shaw anymore, period,’ said their landlord Steven Cassell, whose company developed the residential, retail and office complex. ‘There’s just a ton of investment that’s going down the tubes.’”
The WSJ reporter spoke to Leah Cheston on background, but did not quote her. Shaw’s 11-year lease comes with two 5-year options to renew, though the terms, and the rents, are subject to negotiations.
Crime is a complex thing, too complex for a volunteer-run beer website, and in gentrified Shaw, there’s an added racialized component to this discussion, too. It doesn’t help that the Wall Street Journal has a reputation of being a right of center publication; conservatives are using this article as proof that DC, and most cities writ large, are crime-ridden hellholes (no, we’re not giving them the clicks).
Public drug use near the brewpub doesn’t just affect customers and foot traffic. At least one Right Proper Shaw employee has administered Naloxone to a person who overdosed outside the business. They posted on social media that Naloxone is kept on-site and was used multiple times in 2023. The employee added that drug use had gotten much worse over the years, via Twitter, before deleting their account. Leah confirms that Right Proper Shaw staff are trained on Narcan, and have used it.
It’s unlikely that issues with drug use, and the crime that comes with it, can be solved in the next year, but the brewery’s owner is saying all the right things about the fate of their first location. “We love this neighborhood and we remain dedicated to it. It’s true things have been hit hard by the pandemic: We are continuing to work with all community leaders to help the area be safer for all who live, work, and play in Shaw. As far as our business on T Street, we are holding off on any decisions until the end of 2024,” Leah told us last year when we asked for additional clarification. The brewery is in constant contact with Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners and the councilmembers from wards 1 and 2, as well as a T Street taskforce and healthcare professionals.
One brewery employee, however, says another thing: that Right Proper Shaw will close once Eckington is up and running. If true, that would mean the end of Right Proper’s mixed fermentation beers, which would continue a nation-wide trend in declining production of those styles. We reached out to additional current and former Right Proper employees, but none would comment on the Shaw location’s fate.
“We hope that it’ll stick around for another ten years,” Leah told DCist. “We’re working very hard, very creatively.” If, like us, you’re a fan of mixed fermentation beers, you should root for Right Proper to work it out in Shaw. We’ll have more on that front as news becomes available.
