Ward Court West End DC Restaurants: Plans for a Historic Block

On October 2, liquor license placards went up on two small buildings on Ward Court NW. One is at 2112, which PoPville called a "cool little building." The other is across the way at 2115. A short walk away, 2121 Ward Place has a wall where a Duke Ellington mural hung from 2011 until early 2025. A reader sent PoPville a photo of it disappearing with the note "Au revoir, Duke Ellington mural."

Both details point at the same thing. This tucked-away block, between 21st and 22nd Streets near M Street, is being rebuilt to face the public. Ellington was born here in 1899. If the plans on file go through, the block's next public face will be two restaurants with 225 seats between them. That is a lot of dining in a passage PoPville describes as "technically a Court and not an alley but feels like an alley."

A Block That Spent Years Facing Inward

Ward Court and Ward Place sit inside Square 70. In a 2015 D.C. Council filing, that block is bounded by 22nd Street, N Street, 21st Street, New Hampshire Avenue and M Street. For most West End residents it has been a shortcut at best. In September 2024, Hoodline later recounted, the buildings along Ward Place were vacant except for a USPS processing center.

ONE Street Commercial Properties is changing that. Its project converts the former office buildings at 2121 Ward Place and 2112 and 2115 Ward Court into 48 apartments with up to 14,800 square feet of retail, designed by Rich Markus Architects. The Washington DC Economic Partnership's 2025/26 development report listed the project as under construction, with delivery targeted for the second quarter of 2026. That entry reflects the report's data as of December 2025.

The plan, as Hoodline summarized UrbanTurf's 2024 report, would turn an inactive alleyway into a pedestrian-friendly space with a number of retail options. The October placards are the first public filings that put names and seat counts to that idea.

What the Placards Propose

Both applications appear in the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration's public hearing notices dated October 2, 2026. Side by side:

The hours in the table are what the applicants asked for, not what has been approved.

The name Any Day Now is familiar from Navy Yard. PoPville noted that the original, at 2 I Street SE, describes itself as "a casual and comforting all-day restaurant from celebrated chef and restaurateur Tim Ma." It serves breakfast and coffee "in a coworking-friendly space" and runs as a full-service restaurant and bar at night. Any Day Now West shares the name. The public filings do not say whether it will copy that day-to-night format, and Hoodline reported that no opening dates or construction timelines have been made public for either venue. DZO's filing names an LLC and a trade name. It does not describe a menu or a concept.

The building above will hold 48 apartments. The two ground-floor venues propose 225 seats inside, on the sidewalk and in a summer garden. That is far more people than the apartments will house. These seats are sized for the rest of the West End and for anyone cutting through between M and N Streets.

How Ward Court Differs From the Fall's Other Openings

The West End already had a busy fall of openings, but those went into rooms people already knew. On September 8, Elli Benchimol opened Ellizabetta La Strega at 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in the space where Marcel's operated for 25 years. Executive chef Jenn Castaneda-Jones and chef de cuisine Stephen Jones led the Marcel's kitchen before it closed in 2024, and Eater DC reported that they are now "back in their former kitchen space." Early in October, Ten Ten West End opened inside the One Washington Circle Hotel at 1010 New Hampshire Avenue NW, with executive chef Nicholas Fulginiti serving seasonal American food, according to City Cast DC.

Both of those restaurants filled addresses that were already places to eat. Ward Court has never had a dining room. Its two proposals would create public rooms in former offices on a passage that sat vacant two years ago. That makes it the one West End opening story this season that adds new places to gather rather than refilling old ones. It is also why the block's history now depends on choices made during construction.

If you already have a regular West End evening, from the hotel bars to the free rituals we covered in West End's Real Nightlife Doesn't Cost a Ticket, Ward Court would add a new stop just off M Street.

The Ellington Thread Runs Through the Same Buildings

The D.C. Office of Planning's African American Heritage Trail lists the Duke Ellington Birthplace Site at 2129 Ward Place NW. It says Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was born there on April 29, 1899, in the home of his paternal grandparents. His mother, Daisy Kennedy Ellington, was a native Washingtonian, and his father, James Edward Ellington, came from North Carolina.

The trail also covers how he grew up. He spent his childhood here and in Greater U Street, listening to his father play popular songs and arias and his mother play hymns and ragtime on the family piano. At his parents' insistence he started piano at about age seven. The trail notes that a bronze plaque marks the birthplace.

The same section of the trail lists Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church at 1518 M Street NW, completed in 1886. Frederick Douglass's funeral drew thousands there in 1895. Ellington's birthplace and that church are a short walk apart along M Street.

The addresses do not line up perfectly. The heritage trail gives the birthplace as 2129 Ward Place, while the redevelopment covers 2121 Ward Place and the two Ward Court buildings. Hoodline, citing UrbanTurf, reported that the project site is associated with Ellington's birthplace and that the developer said a tribute to the musician would be built into the finished project. The mural was the block's most visible link to Ellington for more than a decade, and it came down during the conversion. Nothing published since has described what the promised tribute will look like.

So the block will be turned outward, and two venues have applied to fill it. The open question is whether people who come for breakfast or a late table at Ward Court will see Ellington's name when they arrive.

The Calendar Through Winter

The licensing process for both applications runs on a public schedule:

1. October 2, 2026: Placards posted at 2112 and 2115 Ward Court.
2. October 14, 2026: Both applications were on the agenda for ANC 2B's Permitting and Licensing Committee, with public comment taken on each. The block is in single-member district 2B06.
3. October 21, 2026: Both were on the full ANC 2B meeting agenda. The draft motions packet linked from that agenda listed each one as "To be determined."
4. November 16, 2026: Protest petition deadline. ABCA's notice says petitions and requests to appear are filed electronically to [email protected].
5. December 7, 2026: Roll call hearing at 10 a.m., Suite 4200-B, 899 North Capitol Street NE.
6. January 13, 2027: Protest hearing at 1:30 p.m.

The notice lists the full procedure, including the contact for the applicant's counsel. The ABCA document is the source to check for each step. Even with these dates set, neither venue has announced when it will open. After the November 16 petition deadline, the next public hearing on Ward Court is the December 7 roll call.

We follow the West End block by block, including changes like Ward Court that will affect how a corner of the neighborhood feels to live near. If you'd like to talk about what this redevelopment could mean for your own address, or want a current read on your home's value, Kerry Fortune is glad to help. You can start with an instant home valuation or explore more on our West End neighborhood page.