One Saturday morning, you jump on your bike and head out to buy a tool for an on-going home improvement project. En route, you realize that your bike chain needs to be replaced – and that you need a strong cup of coffee.

Fortunately, your destination is District Hardware and Bike, the Wharf’s new 8,500-SF retail hardware store, bike shop, and café, where bike parts, hardware, and warm beverages can be acquired under the same roof. As the project’s architect, DBI worked with designer Natalie Park to optimize the business’s floor plan and fine-tune its design aesthetic and, subsequently, led the project team through construction document preparation and construction administration.

In business for 46 years, the family-owned shop relocated from Foggy Bottom to the Wharf to increase its space and to become part of DC’s brand-new Southwest waterfront neighborhood. Half of the building space is devoted to the hardware store (District Hardware is a True Value reseller), while the remainder is shared between a bike shop and the Velo Café, a small in-store eatery that features local coffee and beer — and has already become a popular spot to sip and linger or to grab a quick bite. A bike repair shop is tucked under the space’s mezzanine; offices and support spaces are located upstairs. The street-level café also has a serving window to accommodate patrons grabbing a cup of coffee to go.

Whether you need a can of paint, a new bike for an upcoming triathlon, or some gourmet eats, District Hardware and Bike is geared up to satisfy your home improvement, cycling, and noshing needs.