The dark storefront across from Tenleytown’s Wegmans is finally showing signs of life again, and this time the word on site is pizza and oysters. Workers were spotted hauling out fixtures and construction debris on October 6 from the 4,800-square-foot space at 7 Ridge Square NW, the longtime home of King Street Oyster Bar, which has sat empty since late last year.
The cleanout was first reported by PoPville, which said readers David and Jenny sent in tips about the renewed activity at the former restaurant site, located directly across from D.C.’s first Wegmans. Per people on site, pizza and oysters are said to be coming to the space, though no formal announcement or opening timeline has been confirmed. The storefront itself was custom-built in 2023 with a neutral beige palette, an all-weather covered patio, and a dual indoor-outdoor bar designed to face both Tatte Bakery and the Wegmans, according to architecture firm //3877 as detailed by Eater DC.
A Rocky Run Since 2023
King Street Oyster Bar opened at City Ridge in November 2023 as the seafood group’s fifth regional outpost before abruptly halting operations and temporarily closing in late December 2025, after roughly two years in business. At the time, an unverified tip from someone on site floated the possibility that the space would be re-concepted as an American Grill-style restaurant within a month — a timeline that came and went without visible progress.
Months of apparent dormancy followed. It wasn’t until early September that brown paper appeared over the windows, signaling renewed interest in the space, before workers began clearing out interior fixtures and debris earlier this month. The gap between that rumored American Grill plan and the current pizza-and-oysters buzz has not been publicly explained, and it remains unclear whether the project is still being run by the original King Street Oyster Bar ownership group or by a new tenant leasing from the property’s developer…