Irreverent sandwich-centric pop-up Fight Club opened its own stand-alone home this week at 633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
It hasn’t moved far from home.
Fight Club became a popular sandwich shop within a restaurant during the beginning of the pandemic when it opened at Beuchert’s Saloon, just five doors away from its new location in the former Hank’s on the Hill restaurant space.
Owners Andrew Markert, Bart Hutchins and Mackenzie Conway started the Fight Club concept to make use of the Beuchert’s Saloon space after it temporarily closed during the early days of the pandemic. Its over-the-top take on sandwiches drew an immediate following.
“The support we received from the Capitol Hill neighborhood was amazing. We had people who would order sandwiches multiple times a week just because they wanted to see us succeed during a very scary time,” Hutchins said. “It feels somewhat poetic that our permanent home would remain on the Hill. It’s our way of saying thank you to the neighborhood.”
Those sandwiches, which the owners call “off-center but on-point,” include the FC Chicken Doink, made with maple pancakes instead of buns and buttermilk-brined chicken thigh; a ham sandwich with braised mustard greens, onion fondue and aged cheddar on marble rye; and the HEIR To the BLT, with heirloom tomatoes, black pepper bacon, pistachio butter and brown butter mayo on sourdough, which The Washington Post named one of the 25 best sandwiches in D.C.
The menu also includes vegan sandwiches, snacks and sweets.
The new Fight Club has murals from a local artist, a DJ booth for weekend brunches and decor that includes a pop-art portrait of Danny DeVito and a gnome flipping the middle finger.
Fight Club is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with expanded hours and weekend brunch to come.
Markert also recently opened a third Capitol Hill restaurant, the Newland, at 327 7th St. SE, with a prix fixe menu, a six-course tasting menu, and caviar service, with caviar served in vintage school lunchboxes.
