This spring when you swing by The Market at Ivy City Smokehouse, you’ll have more to do than twiddle your thumbs while a fishmonger steams the crab legs you ordered.

The team behind the market and upstairs tavern is currently reconfiguring the petite first-floor space on Okie Street NE to install a raw bar for another dine-in option. The space should double in size once work is complete.

There will be a dozen bar stools where customers can take a load off while consuming a small menu of raw fare, including oysters and crudos, from Chef Ron Goodman and fishmonger Danny Greenbaum. Like the upstairs tavern, all of the seafood will come from sister seafood wholesaler business Profish, located across the street. 

Greenbaum also happens to be a sommelier and the market raw bar will have a full liquor license. You won’t have to slurp Chesapeake oysters without a crisp glass of white wine or bubbly. 

In the morning, the market will serve a breakfast menu that goes beyond bagels and lox. Owner Greg Casten hopes to serve the commuter crowd as they drive down New York Avenue into the city as well as neighborhood residents. 

The market, which sells a selection of fish, shellfish, and caviar at wholesale prices directly to consumers, will remain in operation.  

Expect the raw bar to open in early spring or sooner. 

Ivy City Smokehouse Market, 1356 Okie St. NE; (202) 715-1174; ivycitysmokehouse.com/market