The Blend Bar is about to open at 849 Upshur Street NW.

by Yuliya Panfil

This weekend, Chef Danielle Harris will open her newest venture, a smoothie shop, in the tiny purple storefront on Upshur Street that used to house the Little Food Studio.

The Blend Bar Company opens Saturday, April 27th at 849 Upshur Street NW, and will serve fresh fruit juices, boba tea, acai bowls, smoothie bowls and a creation called a “pound cake bowl” (you’ll have to visit the shop to find out exactly what this one is, but Harris promises it's delicious).

The space had been the original location for Little Food Studio, a pint-sized coffee bar and bakery that Harris and pastry chef Chinnell Watson opened in 2021. The shop’s takeout window had offered a perfect setup for Covid-era ordering, but the space offered no indoor seating, and customers could only file in one at a time.

As the pandemic receded Harris and Watson relocated the coffee shop to the former Himitsu and Little Vietnam space across the street at 828 Upshur Street. The duo also run Almeda, a critically acclaimed Afro-fusion restaurant, out of the same 828 space in the evenings.

Harris retained the 849 Upshur location as a prep and production kitchen for Little Food Studio and Almeda and has been searching for a way to offset rent costs. The takeout window set-up lent itself perfectly to a smoothie and boba tea concept.

“It's an idea I had a while ago,” Harris said. “We’ve kept the space since moving [across the street] because we do pastries from scratch and there’s no room at Almeda, the kitchen’s too small. There are no smoothies in the area. So, I thought, how can we do something fun that’ll help us cover the rent?”

The Blend Bar will lean heavily on digital ordering, with a storefront screen that will allow patrons to customize their smoothie and acai bowls and made from scratch boba teas. Customers who order online will be able to pick up their orders from a small fridge just inside the entryway.

The shop will open six days a week at 8am, and will stay open until 7pm Tuesday through Thursday, until 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and until 6pm Sundays.

Harris timed her grand opening with this weekend’s Petworth PorchFest, and hints at some surprises and giveaways. She’s also weeks away from opening Little Food Studio’s second location, inside the National Museum of Women and the Arts.

Some local tastemakers already had a sneak peek of the smoothie shop at a tasting event last weekend.

“Someone posted on the Petworth Parents listserv and we were descended upon by a crowd of toddlers,” Harris said, laughing.

She says she’s excited to offer a new option for the neighborhood and open her third venture on the block.

“Tell Petworth we love them dearly,” Danielle said.

Blend Bar Company
849 Upshur St NW
Instagram.com/theblendbarcompany
Open 6 Days a Week
Tuesday - Thursday: 8am - 7pm
Friday and Saturday: 8am - 8pm
Sunday: 8am - 6pm
Monday: closed