Zeke’s Coffee in the Woodridge neighborhood of D.C. just south of Mount Rainier is planning to expand to a vacant space next door.
The coffeeshop and roastery at 2300 Rhode Island Ave. NE is planning to fully renovate and take over the 1,500 square foot vacant space next door, formerly home to Kaaos Gym, which closed its physical location earlier this year to focus more on personal training.
Zeke’s owner John Kepner told the Hyattsville Wire they were working on permits to start the buildout in the next few months with plans to open the new space by this coming winter.
“This is something we wanted to do for a long time and we were just watching the block for anything to open,” he told the Wire.
The new space next door will serve as Zeke’s coffeeshop while its current space on Rhode Island Avenue, which it has been at since 2013, will be used for production only.
Kepner said he is working with interior design firm Bandura Design, also next door, on plans for the buildout but that the new space will have more seating for customers to relax, hang out, and enjoy their coffee.
“We are working to come up with a design that’s new and exciting but still feels true to our brand,” he said.
Last summer, Zeke’s Coffee upgraded its outdoor sidewalk patio facing Rhode Island Avenue with a new year-round seating structure after receiving a grant from the D.C. Building Industry Association‘s sidewalk improvement program.
With plans to hold in-person gatherings in the new space such as coffee cuppings and tasting events, and even host producers to come talk about the coffee they grow, Kepner says he is also planning to expand the outdoor sidewalk patio so it extends in front of the new space next door adding even more outdoor seating.
Since the second half of the pandemic as people got vaccinated, but continued working from home, Kepner says his location in Woodridge has seen a steady uptick in business.
Zeke’s is part of a growing area of Route 1 with new condos, a mix-used development planned and an expanding lists of businesses including Art Enables, Provost, His & Hers, Subbs by Carl, Bandura Design, Jamerica Restaurant and Bar, and Rita’s Ice Crean, making it more of a destination as people nearby look for retail and dining options close to home that they can walk to.
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