Chefs Justin Ahn and Alex McCoy did not anticipate their 2016 pop-up restaurant in Washington, D.C., would take nearly a decade to secure a permanent location. The concept began as a temporary kitchen in a soon-to-be-demolished Petworth building but grew into a global brand. It now returns to the city with a 25-seat venue tucked into Georgetown’s alleyways. The new Alfie’s preserves the original pop-up’s scrappy spirit while adapting to a fixed address, merging northern Thai flavors with Mid-Atlantic ingredients and Virginia-sourced natural wines.
The pop-up emerged as a last-minute solution. Ahn and McCoy had already locked in a permanent Petworth space but were offered a temporary lease in a nearby vacant building. They seized the opportunity to train staff, test the food, and work through the menus while their permanent space was under construction. What started as a modest experiment quickly became a sensation, drawing advance reservations and coverage from publications like Vogue and Bon Appétit. “We were packed for months in advance,” McCoy recalled.
After the pop-up closed in 2017, the chefs shifted to a roaming model, hosting events in New York, London, and other cities. Their time abroad reshaped the brand’s direction. The pandemic changed the restaurant environment, with rising costs and shifting expectations. “With operating and staff costs going up, people were coming up with these creative service styles with fewer servers and less table service and more QR codes. The math isn’t mathing,” McCoy said. Instead, they adopted a streamlined European-inspired model: smaller teams, intimate settings, and an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients.
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The Georgetown location embodies this philosophy. Situated in a 25-seat alleyway off M Street, the restaurant operates with a small core team—McCoy, Ahn, and their sous chef. Daily menu changes reflect seasonal produce from local suppliers, including Eastern Shore asparagus and morel mushrooms. “If we’re making a curry for the day, we’re [only] making 30 orders,” McCoy noted.
The drink program reinforces the restaurant’s local focus. Most wines by the glass come from Virginia producers within a 20-minute drive, while the bottle list, priced between $35 and $75, prioritizes regional craft over corporate brands. A limited wine club offers members a dedicated storage rack for their collections or curated selections, positioning Alfie’s as a “second living room” for regulars.
The Georgetown space captures the pop-up’s unfiltered essence. The chalkboard menu, a nod to the pop-up era, updates daily.
