Dog Haus opens at 4340 Connecticut Avenue at 8 a.m. on Saturday and pours free coffee until 11, according to Forest Hills Connection. An hour later, ZaoAn Café opens in the same building and starts making breakfast to order. On Sunday, November 1, a few doors north at 4465, Malabar opens at 11:30 a.m. for the second week of the buffet brunch it started on October 25.
At the start of the year, none of those three morning options existed on this block. Every one of them arrived in a storefront that was already there. The weekend morning around Van Ness has filled in a few hours at a time over 2026. During the same months, the corridor's large redevelopment sites stayed exactly where they were.
Three Additions in Four Months, With No Ground Broken
The sequence is short:
- July. Forest Hills Connection named Dog Haus, in Retail Space #5 at 4340 Connecticut, the neighborhood's new weekend breakfast spot. It opens at 8 a.m. Friday through Sunday and serves breakfast burritos all day.
- Mid-August. The Whale Tea, also at 4340, put up its new sign as ZaoAn Café. It now opens at 9 a.m. on weekends and stays open until 7:30 p.m.
- October 25. Malabar, which opened in January in the former Rosedale space and had served dinner only, added a Sunday brunch.
Other names changed along the same stretch. AllCare, the primary care practice at 4340, now operates as CloseKnit. Shemali's at 4483 is now Leez Deli. The Avalon apartments became The Albemarle after the building sold to WC Smith. Forest Hills Connection called it a "rebranding blitz." Each change happened behind an existing facade.
The Lot That Stayed Empty
The big parcels tell the other half of the story. The former Burger King at 4422 Connecticut came down in February 2026. A developer, Highcrest, had signed a contract for that lot, the parking lot behind it and the former Days Inn parking structure at 3415 Yuma Street, with plans for 110 apartments on two of the three. The sale never closed. Forest Hills Connection, summarizing Washington Business Journal reporting, said a possible title issue turned out to be "more of a red herring than a red flag." The delay still cost the project its equity partner, and the three lots went back on the market.
Bread Furst sits at 4434, steps from that cleared site, and opens at 8 a.m. on weekends and holidays. This year the bakery has been using basil grown by UDC, whose research farms include plots on the Van Ness campus. Further south, selective demolition of UDC's Building 41 for the DC Archives project was expected to start in September. Garage work delayed it, and it now cannot begin before December.
As of this fall, then, the corridor's two biggest change projects are a vacant lot and a delayed demolition. The changes residents can use this weekend all came from existing operators reworking their hours, names and menus.
The Weekend, Hour by Hour
Put the openings in order and the corridor runs on a schedule. The north end near Nebraska Avenue still has the earliest hour. The Van Ness blocks now fill the 8 to 9 a.m. stretch, and as of this month they also cover Sunday at 11:30.
| Opens | Where | Address | Weekend hours | On the table |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:30 a.m. | Call Your Mother | 5035 Connecticut | 6:30 a.m.–3 p.m. | Fresh bagels, schmear, breakfast sandwiches |
| 8 a.m. | The Den | 5015 Connecticut | Sat 8–8, Sun 8–7 | Avocado toast, quiche, lox bagel, café corncake, egg melt |
| 8 a.m. | Bread Furst | 4434 Connecticut | 8 a.m.–7 p.m. | Breads, pastries, sandwiches |
| 8 a.m. | Dog Haus | 4340 Connecticut | Fri–Sat to midnight, Sun to 11 p.m. | Breakfast burritos all day |
| 8 a.m. | Italian Bar | Connecticut Avenue | Opens 8 a.m. | Espresso and Italian coffee drinks |
| 9 a.m. | ZaoAn Café | 4340 Connecticut | 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m. | Made-to-order breakfast, Morning Toast |
| 9 a.m. Sat | UDC Van Ness Farmers Market | 4200 Connecticut | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | Seasonal market, through mid-December |
| 11:30 a.m. | Rosemary Bistro Café | 5010 Connecticut | Brunch 11:30–2 | Egg Norwegian with house gravlax, French toast |
| 11:30 a.m. | Comet Ping Pong | 5037 Connecticut | Sat to 10:45 p.m., Sun to 9:30 p.m. | Brunch both days |
| 11:30 a.m. | Sfoglina Pasta House | Connecticut Avenue | Brunch Sat and Sun | Handmade pasta |
| 11:30 a.m. Sun | Malabar | 4465 Connecticut | Sunday brunch | $35 rotating coastal Indian buffet |
The Den keeps its kitchen open for less time than its café: until 7 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday. Rosemary closes between brunch and dinner and reopens at 4:30 p.m. both days. The only two stops open past 9 a.m. that serve breakfast food all day are both at 4340: Dog Haus with its burritos and ZaoAn until 7:30 p.m.
What Malabar's Sunday Adds
Malabar is the corridor's only buffet brunch, and its first two Sundays are discounted. Forest Hills Connection quoted the restaurant's description:
"You'll be welcomed with complimentary Masala Popcorn as you explore our weekly rotating buffet featuring delicious coastal Indian brunch dishes by James Beard Award-winning Chef Vikram Sunderam."
The buffet costs $35 per person, and the menu changes every week. Malabar's own site describes a spread of at least seven dishes. Bottomless mimosas, bloody marys and sparkling wine are another $25. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., reservations are encouraged, and diners at the first two Sunday brunches get 50% off. The first was October 25, so the half-price offer has one Sunday left: November 1.
The rotating menu sets Malabar apart from the rest of the 11:30 group. At Rosemary, the printed brunch menu lists fixed dishes: the Egg Norwegian, the Rosemary Breakfast, a classic omelet, French toast and avocado toast. At Malabar, the second Sunday is designed to look different from the first.
A Saturday Loop That Starts at the Market
Since the market opens at 9 and most of the corridor is open by then, the Van Ness blocks work as a south-to-north loop on foot:
- Start at the UDC Van Ness Farmers Market in front of the Student Center at 4200 Connecticut. It runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through mid-December.
- Walk north to 4340 for a burrito at Dog Haus or Morning Toast at ZaoAn.
- Pass the cleared lot at 4422 and stop at Bread Furst at 4434 for bread for the week.
- Pick up lunch to go at Leez Deli at 4483. The 51st singled out its "Loaded Saucy Platter," which comes in under $15 if you skip some of the suggested add-ons.
- Finish at 5015, where The Den keeps its kitchen open until 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Politics and Prose shares the address.
The night before works too. Calvert Woodley at 4339 runs wine tastings every Friday.
December Brings 4340 Back Into Focus
The same building that took on two morning openings this summer hosts Van Ness Main Street's Holiday Pop-Up Market on Saturday, December 12. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 4340 Connecticut, with more than 20 local makers. The farmers market should still be running that morning, since its season goes through mid-December.
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens opens "A Woven Wonderland" on November 24. The holiday décor draws on the textile exhibition Interwoven and stays up through January 3, 2027. A pavilion renovation means one of the mansion's trees will stand in the staff dining room this year. Hillwood members have an open house on December 1 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with complimentary treats from the Merriweather Café. A wreath-making workshop follows on December 3 at the Dina Merrill Pavilion.
December is also the earliest possible start for the Building 41 demolition on the UDC campus. The three lots around 4422 Connecticut were back on the market as of Forest Hills Connection's September 24 report.
This year, Dog Haus, ZaoAn and Malabar all added morning hours on the same few blocks where the 4422 lot went back on the market. If you are thinking about a move to or from the Van Ness end of Connecticut Avenue and want to know how these changes show up in the homes nearby, Capital Residential Properties offers a confidential market consultation.
