The manifesto opens in Adams Morgan. Photograph by Michael Grant.
Whenever DC-based entrepreneur and sports agent KJ Hughes flies to a new city, he has a favorite ritual.
“I still want a haircut or a razor shave. A shave in Turkey is different from a shave in Dumbo Brooklyn, â€says Hughes, senior advisor to the Washington football team. “That feeling after, you’re ready to take over the world – have a fit, stop by the lobby bar, meet friends.”
This feeling of freshness and the pleasure that follows is what inspired Manifest. The four-in-one concept – home to a hair salon, cafe, designer boutique, and sweatshop – opens today to Adams Morgan, Hughes and his partners Brian Merritt and Susan Morgan. An elegant two-bedroom residence with a retractable glass roof crowns the place and will open for overnight bookings in the coming months.
It’s easy to start making a name for yourself at Manifest, starting with cutting-edge New York design studio Snarkitecture, which showcased interactive installations like “Fun House†and “Beach†at the National Building Museum. They are also behind the chic look of New York and Paris coffee shops for lifestyle brands like Kith. Shoppers here will find high-end street wear, shoes, accessories and skincare products from designers such as Rick Owens, Engineered Garments, Reese Cooper, Plissé and the home line of Manifest, Of Us.
Refreshments come in two forms: caffeine and cocktails. The cafe serves loose leaf teas from Esthète, a business owned by QBIPOC, and coffee drinks from Black Acres Roastery, owned by Black. The 30-seat cocktail hangout, Out of Office, is designed to feel like an intimate getaway with seasonal drinks named after travel destinations. The hidden bar is for reservations only, which you can make on the website, if you can find the link.
“It’s an Easter Egg on the website – it’s not top secret, but it does take a little intentionality,†says Hughes. (We haven’t found it yet.)
Reservations for the barber shop are for members only, although neighborhood walkers are welcome to hang one of the Belmont slender leather chairs if available. Grooming services include cuts and trims, hot towel treatments, beard steaming, face masks, and hot lather shaves. Memberships ($ 89.99 per month) come with perks like discounts on salon services and retail products, free coffee drinks, and more.
“In order to deliver the experience that we want, we want it to be a little bit exclusive,†says Hughes. “I’ve had experiences where exclusivity leads to exclusivity – we don’t want to do that. I want you to come in and the impression that “these are my parents. “
Manifesto. 1807 Florida Ave, NW.
Food Editor
Anna Spiegel covers the restaurant and bar scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and the Master of Fine Arts program at Columbia University in New York City, and held various cooking and writing positions in New York and St. John, in the US Virgin Islands.
