Between Q and R Streets, a protected walkway runs along the outer edge of the 1600 block of Connecticut Avenue while crews work beside it. The Dupont Circle Business Improvement District's notice for the block says the northbound service road closed beginning Tuesday, September 8. The closure is expected to last about eight weeks, weather permitting. Deliveries, rideshare pickups and food couriers use the adjacent roadways and walk in.
Just past R Street, La Tomate has served at 1701 Connecticut Avenue since 1987. Nearly three months before the closure began, a carryout eatery and speakeasy called LYDIA held its soft opening at 1215 Connecticut, south of the Circle. A karaoke lounge opened at 1345 Connecticut in the old Big Hunt space earlier that month. Put this year's new and announced food-and-drink spots on a map and the construction zone is the empty part.
What is actually closed, and until when
The Connecticut Avenue Streetscape and Deckover project covers the underpass between Q Street and Dupont Circle. Construction began in June 2025. WTOP reports completion is expected in late spring or summer 2027, and the price tag is roughly $37 million to $38 million. DDOT's project page lists the streetscape blocks under construction as the 1600, 1700 and 2000 blocks. Its update also says every business is operating normal hours with access at all times.
The work above ground and the work below it run on separate clocks.
- July 9 to July 30, 2026: crews installed 49 girders, the foundation of the deck, in the tunnel lanes between N and Q Streets.
- July 30 to October 20, 2026: deck forming, tunnel lighting installation and fireproofing, with the same closure hours. Lanes close Monday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and from Friday 8 p.m. through Monday 5 a.m.
- During closures: southbound traffic detours via Massachusetts Avenue and around the Circle. Northbound traffic detours around the Circle to New Hampshire Avenue.
- On the 1600 block, from September 8: the northbound service road is closed for about eight weeks, which runs into early November.
The underpass closures fall on evenings and weekends, the same hours a dinner reservation falls on. Anyone driving to a table near the Circle on a Friday night before October 20 is driving into the weekend closure window.
Where the year's new and announced spots landed
Here are seven new and announced food-and-drink spots from the past nine months, with addresses.
| Spot | Address | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmonious Kitchen | 1610 20th St NW, lower level | Japanese breakfast sandwiches, bentos and rice balls, Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Opened January 29 |
| Yo! Wok and Roll | 1345 Connecticut Ave NW | Karaoke bar and lounge with 9 private rooms and a nightclub, in the former Big Hunt space | Opened early June |
| LYDIA Dupont | 1215 Connecticut Ave NW | Carryout eatery and speakeasy from Chef Vic, with flatbread pizza and Afro-Caribbean American dishes | Soft opening June 19 |
| La Merna | 2153 P St NW | Chicago-style tavern and pizzeria, in the former Duffy's space | Neighborhood preview July 31 and August 1 |
| District Taco Mezcaleria | 1919 M St NW | Mezcal and tequila bar inside the flagship Dupont restaurant | Announced July 28 |
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | P Street | Smoothies, wraps, flatbreads and bowls | Reported September 28 |
| Dupont Public House | 1825 M St NW | The old Sign of the Whale space, run by the general manager of Across the Pond | Signage is up, no opening date announced |
Six of the seven sit on P Street, M Street or the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Connecticut, all south of the deckover site. The seventh, Harmonious Kitchen, is on 20th Street. Across the Pond closed its own Connecticut Avenue space in late 2025 and is putting its next room on M Street. That is the one relocation in this set, and it moved away from Connecticut Avenue.
The addresses show where the new and announced spots landed. They do not show why. What they show is that a map of Dupont's new and announced food-and-drink spots and a map of the deckover work barely overlap.
Business reports and DDOT's plans
Business owners along the corridor made their case in April 2026 at the DDOT budget oversight hearing before the D.C. Council's transportation committee. Ten of them testified, according to Fox 5. Edward Camacho of Rosemarino D'Italia said revenue is down 25 to 35 percent since construction started, and he has cut staff hours by 30 to 40 percent. Mihye Yoon of Bibibop Asian Grill called the situation "a crisis." Abubkr Ali of Tatiana Pizza told DC News Now he lost about 60 percent of his business. Jeff Coles, who owns the Golden Age bar, testified, as Hoodline reported, that his revenue is down 42 percent and his guest count is down 61.6 percent. He said a jersey barrier more than 100 meters long blocks rideshares from reaching his door, according to WTOP.
This is testimony from owners, given in April. As of early May, the BID said some businesses had seen foot traffic fall as much as 50 to 60 percent in recent weeks. It asked the Council for $2 million in rent grants and said it received $1 million last year. The request was under consideration as part of the committee's fiscal year 2027 budget oversight.
Pure Green's Connecticut Avenue location at R Street opened in 2024 and closed August 16, 2026. Its owners said they would reopen somewhere in the neighborhood, and no new address has been announced.
DDOT's own materials describe the plan differently from the owners. Chief engineer Rick Kenney told WJLA when the work began that the finished deck is envisioned as an extension of park space north of the Circle. He said the farmers market could be here, or a special event, a movie, outdoor dining. That is the city's stated payoff for the 2027 finish.
An old favorite sits inside the work zone
One of Dupont's longest-running restaurants sits in the blocks under construction. La Tomate opened as a French bistro in 1987 and became an Italian restaurant in 1988. It occupies the triangular building at Connecticut Avenue and R Street with a patio facing the avenue. It serves brunch and runs an aperitivo hour with light fare and drinks at special prices, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Rosemarino D'Italia and Tatiana Pizza are on the 1700 block, per the Dupont Circle BID's dining directory.
DDOT told WJLA that pedestrians will have access to businesses along the service lanes, such as Kramerbooks, for the entire project. The DDOT project page asks visitors to patronize local and small businesses along the corridor and says all businesses are operating normal hours.
A few dated items round out the fall for anyone planning around the work:
- FRESHFARM Dupont Circle Market runs Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with dates listed through at least December 13, 2026. On market Sundays, DDOT's closure notice shuts 20th Street between Connecticut and Massachusetts Avenues to cars.
- Dupont Artisan Market at 1913 Massachusetts Avenue NW is in its 19th year, and its organizers say they have added artists this season.
- DC Halloween Crawl runs Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 2 to 10 p.m. at Dupont bars, for ages 21 and up. Tickets are $15 early bird and $40 on the day.
- The Fall Fest and Bluegrass Jamboree is a Dupont Circle BID tradition in the Circle, with live bluegrass, pumpkin decorating and costume contests for pets, kids and adults. The BID's events calendar carries the current date.
The underpass night closures are scheduled to end October 20. The 1600 block service road stays closed into early November. The Sunday market has dates listed through at least December 13.
Shepherd Homes Group keeps an eye on the Connecticut Avenue deckover schedule block by block. If you have a question about how the work touches a specific stretch of Dupont Circle, Contact Us.
