Ramen and izakaya spot Daikaya isn’t the only Penn Quarter project that Sushiko co-owner Daisuke Utagawa has in the works. The restaurateur is also planning to open a Japanese cocktail bar in the small basement space beneath Fuel Pizza at 600 F St. NW, about a block away from where Daikaya will be.

“The cocktail bar has been in Japan for a very long time. It’s kind of taken on this uniqueness of being Japanese,” Utagawa says. “We’re inspired by that.”

Daikaya chef and Think Food Group alum Katsuya Fukushimais also involved in the project and will be creating a menu of otsumami, or Japanese snacks that accompany drinking. Utagawa says the cocktail bar will be “like a little brother to Daikaya.”

The restaurant is still in the early development stages, so the rest of the details—including a name and opening timeline—have not been finalized.

Photo via Google Maps