by Yulia Panfil

Next month, Petworth will get a food option that has long topped residents’ wish lists for neighborhood offerings: a proper deli.

Matt Sperber, a butcher, chef and sausage maker with prior stints at DC area restaurants Any Day Now, Momofuku and The Salt Line, will open District Larder delicatessen at 821 Upshur Street NW in April. The space most recently hosted Fedwell and Petworth Social, and before that Taqueria del Barrio and Domku.

General Manager Jason Horswill (left) and owner Matt Sperber in front of the soon-to-be open District Larder at 821 Upshur Street NW

District Larder will operate daily as a full-service deli and market, with a sandwich counter and house-made salamis, pates, charcuterie, deli meats and cheese for purchase. A small market area will sell condiments, pre-made takeaway meals like lasagna and pot pie, and grocery staples.

On Thursday through Saturday evenings and on weekends, fellow Momofuku alum Chris Levitt will run a dinner and brunch service focused on whole animal butchery and seasonal vegetables.

Sperber, a Petworth resident, has worked as a butcher and cook in restaurants around the country. When the 821 Upshur space opened up, he jumped at the chance to open a concept in his own neighborhood focused on the type of food he excels at.

Owner Matt Sperber (left) with General Manager Jason Horswill

“In the restaurant business, at some point you’ve got to pick what you're good at, and charcuterie has always been my strong suit,” Sperber said. “So when it came time to open up my own concept, this was the least anxiety inducing.”

District Larder will skew casual and focus on well-made kitchen classics. The restaurant’s bar will similarly offer a no-frills selection of local brews, cocktail staples and a small non-alcoholic selection.

“Nobody will be flipping bottles back there,” says General Manager Jason Horswill.

District Larder will use the small back dining room for dinner service Thursday - Sunday and weekend brunch

While District Larder will offer a range of food and drink options, the star of the show will undoubtedly be the house-made meats, some of them hanging on display inside a huge walk-in fridge now occupying the restaurant’s center. Mortadella, bologna, genoa, calabrese, roast beef, capicola, bacon, and a range of old world sausages and salamis.

A few salamis already hanging behind the counter at District Larder

Sperber spent time working at Sean Brock’s Charleston standout Husk prior to assuming the sous chef role at Momofuku CCDC, and knows a thing or two about fancy restaurants. District Larder, he said, is intentionally not that.

“This is not about foodies coming from across the city,” Sperber said. “It’s about the people who live in the neighborhood. This is a place you can come to once a week, not once a year for date night.”

Those weekly visits will be key for District Larder to survive in Petworth’s tricky retail market. Upshur Street gets busy on weekends but traffic is slow most weekdays. Both of 821 Upshur Street’s immediately prior tenants lasted less than two years (for different reasons: del Barrio closed due to the owner becoming ill, and Social Grill closed from the owner being ill-prepared).

The interior was still under construction but will feature a large walk-in fridge for salamis

Nevertheless, Sperber said he hopes District Larder will fill a neighborhood niche, whether that’s a charcuterie board for a dinner party, a grab-and-go meal on the way home from work, or a traditional brunch service. He also previewed that he aims to hire staff from the neighborhood, so be on the lookout from job postings.

“I’ve noticed that Petworth has a little more pride than some other neighborhoods in DC,” Sperber said. “The people who live in this neighborhood are invested in supporting it.”

Hours of Operation:

District Larder
821 Upshur Street NW
districtlarder.co