by Larry Janezich
Posted: Friday, April 17, 2026
Here’s Hill’s Kitchen – from left, Miles Hamilton, John Johnson, and Sarah Needles. Hill’s Kitchen is at 713 D Street, SE.
Hill’s Kitchen has stepped up to help the 7th Street and other nearby neighbors who are protesting the opening of Wingstop – a fried chicken carryout – on Barracks Row across the street from Popeye’s in the troubled 400 block of 8th Street, SE.
The store has copies of the petition available for Ward 6 residents to sign.
The well-organized group of neighbors behind the effort has been active for more than a decade, urging ANC6B, the Board of Zoning Adjustment, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, and the Zoning Commission to enforce existing regulations on restaurants and bars on Barracks Row. They have been instrumental in helping negotiate settlement agreements with food and liquor establishments, insisting on best operating practices regarding rodents, trash, traffic, odor and noise. Many of the neighbors support going beyond targeting Wingstop and favor a ban on fast food outlets on the street and this group is circulating this petition.
The petition says, “Enough is enough!” It calls on CM Charles Allen to “fight to Save Barracks Row Main Street.”
Here’s the operative language:
Support our petition to DC Ward 6 Council Member Charles Allen requesting
1. Immediate moratorium against any opening of new cannabis or fast food retailers.
2. Department of Building Enforcement reviews of All Barracks Row establishments operating as cannabis stores or fast food restaurants
3. Clear statutory language requiring all Barracks Row establishments to comply with best practices on rodent control, sound mitigation, and odor prevention
Fast/Fast Casual Food on the 400 block of Barracks Row
- & Pizza
- Taco Bell
- Popeye’s
- Chipotle
- Ledo Pizza
- Pizza Boli
- Dunkin
- Maman Joon Kitchen
- Union Kitchen
- WingSpot (applicant for special exception)
Weed shops on Barracks Row
- UpNSmoke 427 8th Street, SE
- Miel Wellness 727 8th Street, SE
- Sticky Meds 1104 8th Street, SE
- Aloha 539 8th Street, SE
And weed shops near Barracks Row
- No Kids Allowed 637 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
- High Demand DC Weed Dispensary & Delivery 511 11th Street, SE
- New Leaf Dispensary (formerly Taste Budz) at 317 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
I understand the concerns about cannabis shops. That’s a real issue and one where enforcement and regulation matter. But lumping fast‑food or fast‑casual restaurants into the same category feels like a huge overreach.
Barracks Row has always been a multi‑option food corridor. That mix is part of what made the area vibrant and accessible to the people who have lived here for decades, not just the newer arrivals. Trying to ban entire categories of food, especially ones that many longtime residents and visitors rely on, feels less like community protection and more like a small group pushing their preferred aesthetic at the expense of everyone else.
And honestly, the idea that fast‑casual places are the problem doesn’t match what we’ve seen in this neighborhood or anywhere else in the city. If you look around Barracks Row (or even other commercial corridors) the pattern is pretty clear: it’s the higher‑end restaurants that keep cannibalizing each other. They chase the same narrow customer base, struggle to maintain consistent foot traffic, and then close, leaving behind yet another vacant storefront.
Meanwhile, the more affordable, everyday food options are the ones that actually stay open and serve the full community. Pretending that fast food is what’s hurting the corridor ignores the real issue: a lack of diverse, sustainable businesses that attract steady foot traffic throughout the day.
If anything, banning fast‑casual spots just accelerates the cycle of vacancies and turnover. That’s not “saving” Barracks Row; it’s repeating the same mistakes that have already hollowed out other parts of the city.
We should absolutely hold all businesses to strong standards on trash, rodents, noise, and operations. But banning fast food on a street that has always had a mix of options doesn’t solve the real issues. Instead, it just makes the neighborhood less accessible and less reflective of the people who’ve been here all along.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree! Not all of us can afford—or always want—a sit-down meal. Any restaurant that’s a responsible neighbor should be welcome, as should its patrons, especially given this location’s role as a transit hub. I’m all for diversifying the retail mix, but that will require much more than petitions.
More healthy (especially vegetarian friendly) fast casual restaurants are definitely needed on Barracks Row!