In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”

Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.

Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.

Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.

“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.

Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”

Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.

Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.

Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.

Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.

Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.

Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”

The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.

Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.

“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.

On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”

In a city of constant change, the restaurant industry is no exception. Reeling from inflation and Initiative 82 on tipped minimum wage, the industry still managed to thrive, delighting diners of all stripes. In no particular order, and in a highly subjective list, these are a few of the top stories that hit hardest in the D.C. food and drink scene in 2024.

Her Diner Rises

When one diner door closes, another diner door opens. After 25 years as an LGBTQ and Adams Morgan landmark, Duplex Diner ended its run. 

On July 31, Duplex Diner owners Mark Hunker and Jeff McCracken closed the bar-restaurant and soon announced the potential for a new location in Rehoboth Beach, Del. The duo purchased the spot in 2014 from previous owner and developer Erich Hirshfield, who initially launched Duplex Diner in 1998.

The Diner’s general manager, Kelly Laczko, quickly moved to take over the location, imbuing it with a refreshed spirit while maintaining nods to the community-centric atmosphere beloved in the past, and giving it a new name: Her Diner. Laczko, along with wife, Kethida Laczko, improved the interior with a vibrant, modern facelift that built on the industrial-chic vibe of Duplex. 

Laczko also kept a menu mainstay: the (In)famous, beachy squeezes most popular in lemon, as well as orange and grapefruit. Tater tots and meatloaf also remain, as well as some beloved events, like weekly trivia and drag shows. She’s dedicated one of the bathrooms to Beyonce; the rest of the restaurant is dedicated to her customers grateful that the Diner has been reborn.

Political Patties Falls

Another gay bar closure did not have as felicitous of an ending. Last summer, Dirty Goose, a tri-level bar on U Street, closed after eight years. Co-owners Justin Parker and Daniel Honeycutt also run nearby Shakers. Dirty Goose became a nightlife mainstay, first focusing on martinis and cocktails, and later moving to DJ sets, dancing, and a rooftop popular on weekends. “Goose,” as it is popularly known, had a strong impact: it started a mini-nightlife trend at the corner of 9th and U Streets, as Kiki opened soon after, followed by Shakers.

In its place, however, was not another gay bar. Owners Sydney Bradford and Andrew Benbow opened a bar called Political Pattie’s in September just a few days after Goose closed in an attempt to fashion a sports bar – bipartisan watering hole. Reaction was swift: first for taking over the space of a popular institution, then painting over its rainbow with a donkey and elephant, as well as for bad-pun, politically themed cocktail names. The bar never overcame the internet’s backlash and nationwide bad press. It closed less than three months later, in December. As of press time, the space remains vacant.

A Starr is Born – Again

Stephen Starr continues his romp through the D.C. restaurant scene. Starr, based in Philadelphia, owns one of the most popular restaurants in the city, Le Diplomate. The tireless restaurateur has since opened several additional concepts, including El Presidente and St. Anselm. This year, Starr debuted Pastis, a near-copy of the French, celebrity-focused restaurant in Manhattan. It completes a Union Market trio of Starr restaurants, where the aforementioned two are located. Pastis was co-produced by another New York-based restaurateur, Keith McNally, who opened a separate new restaurant in December of this year, Minetta Tavern. 

Starr, however, was not done dotting the District with destinations. Partnering with celebrated West Coast-based chef Nancy Silverton, the two refashioned the former Dean & Deluca space on M Street into the Italian destination of Osteria Mozza (there is another location of Osteria Mozza in LA). Silverton here has taken the helm of the giant, gilded, two-story space, fronted by a specialty market and centered around a circular marble bar from which drinks and cheese will flow. 

Starr, with two restaurant openings this year, has his hands full, but is not yet done: Starr is set to soon take over and reopen The Occidental downtown.

Rafidi Rules

The Yellow Brick Road is paved with pastries, hummus, and sumac for Michael Rafidi, the award-winning chef of Michelin-starred Albi and bakery Yellow. This year, Rafidi opened the upstairs-level La’Shukran in Union Market, a neo-Bistro inspired by a bit of Beirut and a bit of the 1960s. With fewer than 40 seats, it’s an intimate lounge with DJs dropping beats from across the Arab world, and mixologists pouring innovative concoctions featuring Levantine ingredients like arak and sumac. Dishes run from hummuses to escargot to date-barbecued mushrooms. Rafidi’s Yellow cafes are open in Georgetown and the ground floor below La’Shukran. The Union Market location just launched “All the Kebabs”, an afternoon-evening menu of pitas, mezze, and yes, kebabs, to complement the morning-time pastries. Rafidi continues to push beyond boundaries in his exploration of savory, sweet, and drinks from the Middle East and beyond. 

The tastiest things can come in the smallest of packages – even those that were borne out of tragedy.

Kristy Lam founded and owns Mulan Dumplings, based in D.C., with her wife Roya Shadravan. In 2016, Shadravan faced a health scare with a brain tumor, which changed the couple’s perspective on food and lifestyle. 

“We realized how important it is to consume nourishing meals without additives or artificial ingredients, yet we struggled to find convenient Asian cuisine that met these standards,” Lam says. They “felt moved to create Asian dumplings that reflected the positive impact their new diet had on them, and could have on others,” and Mulan Dumplings was born.

Lam soon started a food truck, serving a handful of varieties of natural dumplings using meat free of antibiotics or hormones. Quickly gaining popularity, Lam was soon invited by the National Zoo to park it next to the pandas, which gave her a lot of exposure and helped her meet new fans (pandas not included). 

When the COVID pandemic hit, she transitioned to packaging and delivering the dumplings; scaling up, she is now distributing Mulan Dumplings to regional grocery stores as well as continuing direct to consumer sales, cooking in a commercial kitchen in Hyattsville.

Lam’s dumplings venture proved successful: she, and 19 other woman-woman-owned restaurants and other food-related entrepreneurs in the D.C. and Los Angeles areas, just completed a scholarship and training program through Regarding Her. The organization, also known as (RE:Her) is a national nonprofit of women entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industries that began during the COVID-19 pandemic to support women negatively affected by the consequences of the pandemic. This is the first year the Academy will be open to businesses in the Washington, D.C. area.

Local LGBTQ chefs and owners like Jamie Leeds of Hank’s and Ruth Gresser of Pizzeria Paradiso, have played leading roles in the organization.

The academy provides these entrepreneurs with a highly supportive network in the competitive food and beverage space. But beyond inspiration, the academy and the network are practical: financial management, operations, efficiency, and mentorship.

Lam says that her “LGBTQ identity is central to everything we do at Mulan Dumplings, shaping our approach to both our products and our business values.” It was the health journey that set them on the path to found Mulan Dumplings, “but our LGBTQ identity drives us to prioritize inclusivity and empowerment.” For example, they ensure that they hire women and minorities, prioritize fair wages and support, and create an open and welcoming workspace.

Through their food, the couple has been able share their journey – partnering with regional LGBTQ organizations, supporting LGBTQ businesses, and creating products that are diverse in origin and inspiration. Like many culinary industry founders, they see food as a way to gather people together and celebrate resilience and diversity. And like many in the LGBTQ food industry, they maintain and deepen roots and connections with other queer-owned businesses, both in business and community solidarity.

Moving forward, Lam plans to use the scholarship funds to collaborate with Brand Capture, a local, women-owned startup marketing firm. This partnership allows Lam to lean in to their online and social presence, an investment that Lam says will increase their business possibilities by driving brand awareness and sales, to “continue our mission of providing delicious, nutritious dumplings while supporting our community.”

“Our dumplings are a reflection of our belief that you don’t have to compromise between convenience and quality, just like we believe businesses shouldn’t compromise when it comes to equity and representation. By living authentically, we aim to make Mulan Dumpling a brand that uplifts our community and inspires positive change.”