The newest bar on H Street Northeast offers an escape – from your device. At Rock Harper’s Hush Harbor, patrons check their phones at the door.
“We are D.C.’s first phone-free bar. So that means, if I can take your cell phone, put in his bag. I’ll give it right back to you,” Harper said, holding out a Yondr pouch. The pouches snap shut, but you can still hold your device and feel it vibrating.
Harper is a celebrity chef who won the third season of Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and owns Queen Mother’s fried chicken shop in Arlington. He got some interesting reactions to his idea for a phone-free bar in a city known for being plugged in.
“Most people were totally okay with it. Some people were, like, super skeptical. There were a few people that were hesitant … because we had a doctor in. She was on call. But we worked through that,” he said.
The guest experience goes beyond ditching devices. Board games, a big free library, a record player, warm decor and a courtyard are all meant for an analog atmosphere. Polaroids everywhere remind people to stay in the moment.
“We’re not anti-tech. We’re pro-presence,” Harper said.
Harper says he’s not trying to change anyone’s habits or tell anyone they’re on their phone too much.
“We’re not, you know, trying to make a statement. We’re very curious because curiosity leads to compassion and in hospitality, once you become compassionate, now you see a human being, and now we problem solving together,” Harper said.
Guests can step outside to check their phone whenever they need, going in and out as much as they like, Harper said.
“But if you want to unlock your phone – that little bit of friction just to go check a text or check an email that you normally would if it were with you at the bar – then that’s something. You’re holding a mirror up to yourself,” he said.
The menu features Southern dishes, including buttermilk biscuits with ham and a pimiento cheese and cracker plate that costs $5, plus classic cocktails ($15-$16), beer ($5-$13), wine ($12) and a nonalcoholic mule ($10).
You’ll find Hush Harbor at 1337 H St NE in Washington, D.C. It’s open Wednesdays through Saturdays starting at 5 p.m., with a daily happy hour from 5-7 p.m.
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