Inside Manifest 002, the Washington D.C. Social Club Made for Locals

The first thing you’ll notice is the light. Cross the threshold at Manifest 002, the second outpost of Washington, D.C.’s stylish barbershop-turned-social-club, and you’ll find it bright and inviting, even at dusk. But the after-work crowd that comes to the new Union Market location, home to a 9,700-square-foot space that expands on Manifest’s original mission, will have plenty of reasons to stay well into the evening.

After all, this lofty third space offers a barbershop, coffee shop, clothing store, restaurant, cocktail lounge, and private dining space, all of it accessed through a minty green entry floor designed to immediately put you at ease. “We built [Manifest] No. 1 with a lot of intention,” KJ Hughes, one of the three founders of the brand, tells Robb Report. “If you look back at some of the stories that ran and even some of the comments under IG posts, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a fancy barbershop.’ But we think our people deserve it … it was always about, ‘How do we deeply connect with folks who are starving for more than a transaction?’” 

Designed by INC Architecture & Design, Manifest 002 has a natural flow to it; the leafy entrance ebbs downward to a gallery-like space where the clothing is located. The dining room of (H)ours, spearheaded by chef Erik Bruner-Yang, feels cozy and earthy, like sitting on the ground for a picnic. And in a city filled with marble columns and wood paneling, its modernist, forward-thinking spaces feel sorely needed. “There needs to be more representation in this hospitality-type space,” Hughes says. “The same people are getting the same opportunities over and over and over again.”

Not that it isn’t luxe. Take the thoughtful curation of the clothing on offer, which should appeal to both fashion guys and runners. You’ll find clothes from Rick Owens, Marni, MM6 Maison Margiela, Casablanca, and Willy Chavarria alongside sportier fare from Hoka, Saucony, and Salomon. “The barbershop brings in all walks of life,” Merritt says. “We want to have something for everybody to be able to purchase.“ Plus, it’s more inclusive of the Beltway denizens who don’t live in Brooks Brothers and Loro Piana. “Regardless of what the country thinks, D.C. people can dress,” Merritt adds. “Whether it’s in a suit, casual, or streetwear—whatever—they know how to put it together in a different way… It’s not New York, it’s not the South, but it’s the mix.”

That’s to say nothing of the in-house brand, Of Us, which boasts plenty of hats and, per Morgan, an impressive chore coat worn by the staff, but made available for customers as well. “That is one of those staples that works with everything,” Morgan says. There will also be a focus on womenswear at 002 as well, with room to grow if it takes off. “Womenswear is a little bit more exciting because they’re more experimental, and they can cross over to menswear,” Merritt adds.

That very specific and localized point of view seems to have its own gravitational pull. Bruner-Yang, the chef, wasn’t even supposed to have a restaurant here at the outset of the project, when he simply wanted to help his friends through the rigor of opening a new business in the nation’s capital. “I just was like, ‘Whatever you need. I just want you to succeed,’” Bruner-Yang says. “I was a fan of the brand and its importance to the city, and I just wanted them to be successful.” 

Eventually, it got to the point where Bruner-Yang had such a clear view of what his partners wanted to offer that he couldn’t step away. Morgan wanted pasta, Hughes wanted a superb bread service, and Merritt ensured a key lime pie found its way to the dessert menu. “My biggest directive was on the experience and making sure that people connected to the food,” Hughes adds. “We care about how you feel about the things we’re creating.”

Third spaces are an increasing rarity nowadays. Manifest 002, if the team has its way, will traffic in that sense of hospitality that makes a third space not only possible, but a critical part of DC’s culture. “I think it’s what the city deserves too,” says Morgan. “We want this to feel like a place where you want to come back to and feel like it’s really enriching your experience or your life.”

If it feels like a reminder that D.C. is a place where people build lives, that’s part of the point. “What gets exported so often across the national media is the government story,” Hughes says. [D.C.] is way more than that. There’s people who live here. There’s culture that lives here, that’s born here, that’s grown here, and we’re going to celebrate that.”