A new pub is taking shape on Takoma Park's Flower Avenue, and it comes with an unusual bonus: an ice cream and candy shop tucked into the back of the building. MilePost 7 is the latest project from chef Brad Feickert, the restaurateur behind Soko Butcher and Koma Cafe, and it's set to take over the space at 8000 Flower Avenue that spent the last seven years as Mansa Kunda.
According to WhatNow, MilePost 7 will serve up a pub burger and chips, great beer, cocktails, and even champagne on draft, alongside a $5 happy hour. Feickert described his vision for the spot as a small-town pub with good food and drinks, sports on the televisions, good music, and neighbors socializing over beers. The pub is designed to flex between quick after-work drinks, dinner with friends, watching a game, or family brunch, and per the same report has already generated considerable buzz among area foodies. MilePost 7's Instagram account sums up its approach as seriously great food and drinks without taking itself too seriously.
A Name Rooted in Railroad History
The name MilePost 7 isn't random. As The MoCo Show reports, it references Takoma Park's origins as an 1880s commuter suburb shaped by rail travel, with the pub sitting between mileposts 6 and 8. The outlet notes that MilePost 7 became the immediate priority for Feickert's hospitality group after construction delays stalled progress on Phia, his planned Appalachian fine-dining restaurant at 304 Carroll Street NW on the Takoma Park/D.C. border.
Phia carries its own personal story. The MoCo Show reports the concept is named after Feickert's grandmother Sophia and centers on elevated, grassroots mountain cuisine inspired by her upbringing in the coal mining town of Matewan, West Virginia, with a planned menu of wild-foraged greens, heirloom grains, and sorghum-glazed dishes. While work on that project continues, MilePost 7 gives Feickert's team a way to keep momentum going on a site that was already available.
Replacing a Neighborhood Fixture
The address MilePost 7 is taking over carries real weight in the neighborhood. According to the Takoma Foundation, West African restaurant Mansa Kunda operated at 8000 Flower Avenue for seven years before closing in 2026 to relocate to Takoma, D.C., with owner Hatib Joof earning a local Azalea Award for revitalizing the commercial strip. The Gambian eatery was widely recognized and was even featured on WETA's Signature Dish series, cementing its place as a neighborhood fixture before the move.
The new space won't be purely a pub, either. The MoCo Show reports the layout will include an ice cream and candy shop built into the back of the building in addition to the Americana food and draft drinks up front, giving MilePost 7 a split personality between bar and sweet shop.
A Growing Footprint on Flower Avenue
MilePost 7 won't be Feickert's only presence on the block. It sits just doors down from Koma Cafe at 8006 Flower Avenue, his Italian-inspired cafe and cocktail bar that opened in October 2023 serving specialty coffee, house-made pastas, and rotating soft-serve ice cream, per the same MoCo Show reporting. That puts two of his concepts within steps of each other along the same commercial strip.
Feickert's brand has been expanding well beyond Takoma Park, too. The MoCo Show notes his Soko Butcher in Takoma Park, which went on to earn a Washington Post best cheesesteak honor and, in September, two Washington City Paper Best of D.C. awards for Best Sandwich and Best Butcher Shop. The MoCo Show also names Harvey's by Soko and mentions Soko Cheesesteaks at Capital One Arena.
What's Still Unknown
Feickert told WhatNow that Takoma Park has meaningfully supported his restaurants and that he hopes residents will make MilePost 7 their own.
No opening date for MilePost 7 has been announced.
