Pearl Dive Opens with a Purpose

Barbara and Jeff Black, owners of the new Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and Black Jack, launched their fall fundraising initiative with the Washington Nationals Diabetes Care Complex by opening the doors to their highly anticipated new venues for a pre-opening bash Saturday night.

Located on 14th Street (1610 14th Street NW), and adopting the split-level/split-personality concept so trendy to the area, Pearl Dive (downstairs) features the fare, while Black Jack is the place to play — literally.

Guests at the event sampled oysters prepared every way, from fried on po’boy sandwiches to fancy wraped in bacon and from Rockefeller to raw.  Over 2,000 were served in six varieties alongside Pearl Dive’s other now-popular menu tastes.

And upstairs, attendees found fun crowding the bar and the back Bocce Room, with DC’s only indoor ‘regulation’ bocce court.  Artsy atmosphere pieces pepper the spacious lounge, like giant light-up GOLF signage, digitally remastered retro wallpaper, and spectator seats (scored from online find-shop Etsy). 

Proceeds from the restaurant/lounge preview helped the Black Restaurant Group to meet their fundraising goal of $200,000 to build a state-of-the-art kitchen at the Washington Nationals Diabetes Care Complex at Children’s National Medical Center, supporting children with diabetes by providing a realistic stage for food education and healthy cooking.