What in the Tim Burton is Goin' On!? — DESIGNING THE DISTRICT

Beetle House DC – What is it, How’d we get involved, What fun!

It is truly a modern-day tale of business development meets digital networking meets complete happenstance why you find me talking about “Beetle House DC” today. The story begins about a month or so ago (mid-September 2019). I had just arrived back to Miami as I prepare this snowbird for winter (brrr), which includes lining up my warmer weather clients, preparing my closet with some emergency warm attire, and maintain my tan. Per usual, I #WFP when at Designing the District HQ2 (Work From Pool). I had just finished designing a graphic for an event I’m hosting this October and disseminated promotional messaging WHEN … my Instagram notifications went a flurry!

I received comment tags on a post within which I was not tagged or seemingly relevant. These tags were coming from an old friend from my college years. So, naturally, I migrated my focus over to the Gram where I found my name embedded within a rather heated discussion about a new business to DC that got roped into conversational misunderstandings with the community and media. E.G. an out of towner had opened a business in DC without (seemingly) any knowledge of the DC restaurant scene. Oddly enough, the conversation brought me in as I work with hospitality businesses in and outside of Washington to help grow their brand, awareness, program memorable events, and design content and strategies for marketing. As I caught up with this story, I realized the business owner had not come into Washington on a high horse and certain hearsay may have been misguided. I could tell from the discussion that the business was excited to be in Washington and to take part in its fabulous restaurant and nightlife culture.

Presenting … Beetle House DC! An all year Halloween pop-up style restaurant. The restaurant takes a film noire mood to recreate some of Tim Burton’s most noteworthy films. From design, to entertainment, cocktails, to food and fun, this restaurant seemed to be such a unique, welcome addition to Washington’s rather tasty, fancy, yet sometimes repetitive dining-out concepts. I love living and eating in DC, we have some of the best restaurants and food in the country, however other than SAX DC, I am unfamiliar with any other performance-based theme restaurants.

Back to the IG fiasco, I began conversation politely within the comment body and of course, the ever businessman I am, connect privately with who I’d soon come to learn, is the creator and founder of the Beetle House concepts nationwide (LA & NYC); @TheRealZachNeil. We very shortly after found ourselves on a phone call conversing about each other, our businesses, our visions and needs. I understood and saw sincere opportunity to help this special venue take legs here in the DC area. Zach and I had a lot in common both personally and professionally and being both entrepreneurs allows for mutual understanding and strong collaborative potential.

Upon returning to DC, I quickly made my way over to Beetle House DC (816 H St. NE) to meet the team, experience the venue, and try out the goods for myself. I absolutely loved meeting everyone at Beetle House DC. They are a group of visionaries, hard workers, and are passionate about bringing their well-known concept to the DC market. Their New York and LA locations are legit KILLING IT! Having not been welcome with open arms or at least the warmest of welcomes, the brand really needs some healthy audience development and programming support. From our numerous chats, it was apparent that we could work together to bring meaningful attention, whimsy, guests, and ideas to Beetle House DC.

Get spooked this haunting season at beetle house dc - 816 h st. ne

We agreed that Designing the District would be hosting a series of experiential dinners with industry relevant contacts, friends, and lovers of ALL THINGS HALLOWEEN! We also thought it may be a great idea to bring more talent into the space and diversify what type of entertainment is offered at Beetle House DC. It’s awesome that Designing the District represents so much talent, from media to singers, models to performers, and all that’s in between. Lastly, we felt it was helpful for us to design some marketing content for them (since opening a restaurant and marketing it ON YOUR OWN is a lot, we’re happy to help!).

nous sommes contents … for content! @beetlehousedc #beetlehousedc

So far this October, the perfect month to help launch a Halloween-themed restaurant, we’ve hosted a small group of 12 for a social media dinner and a show (check out our highlights on the gram) and are welcoming a larger group of 50+ media colleagues for a proper mixer to sample all of the mystical and magical drinks, nibbles, and entertainment Beetle House DC has to offer our community.

@district.vy & @rominandyusa share a big fishbowl for 2 at @beetelhousedc

We invite you to follow along our Instagram stories, posts, and Facebook events to stay in the loop of all things Beetle House. We will be kicking off some fun programming with them next month, which you will not want to miss! Stay tuned Wednesday, October 23rd, for a robust flood of digital creator content coming from our next experience at Beetle House.

If you love Halloween, dark humor and magic, a giggle, and a lot of sing-along throwback tunes, you will definitely feel at home at Beetle House DC. Add in some DELICIOUS food and a dozen very festive and bold cocktails, and this built for all restaurant concept will be a slam dunk for you! Kids young and old will certainly love Beetle House DC.