A sprawling new pool hall called The Pocket is moving into the basement of the National Press Building at 529 14th Street NW, taking over the massive space vacated when SPIN DC's ping pong operation closed its doors this past June. The 12,000-square-foot venue will pack in nine pool tables, more than 20 televisions, and two full bars, with plans to open in roughly three months.
The project comes from veteran D.C. nightlife operator Geoff Dawson, working alongside partners Rob Hess, Amy David, and Arturo Magana, according to PoPville. The outlet reports the menu will echo the old-school fare of Mackey's Public House, the long-running Downtown L Street pub that closed in 2017, with burgers, wings, sandwiches, salads, and seafood entrees like shrimp, crabcakes, and fish and chips. Prices are meant to stay affordable, and the drink list will include draft, bottled, and canned beer alongside cocktails such as guava mezcal and mojitos.
Dawson has said the team wants a long-term presence at the location and has teased additional nearby plans, per the same report. The space is pitched as a spot for playing pool, grabbing drinks, watching games, group outings, and dates, and will be open seven nights a week.
A Space Built for Big Crowds, With Minimal Rework
Part of the appeal for Dawson's team is that the basement needs little renovation. SPIN had already built out a large commercial kitchen and outfitted the space for high-volume entertainment, the article notes. SPIN DC first opened there in December 2018 and ran for roughly seven and a half years before shutting down in June 2026.
The 14-story, 560,000-square-foot National Press Building dates to 1926 and is managed by Cannon Hill Capital Partners, serving as headquarters for the National Press Club, founded in 1908, according to Commercial Observer. The building has seen mixed fortunes on its retail side in recent years: Marshalls closed its store there in January 2023, following the May 2020 shutdown of the building's Eat at National Place food hall, as reported by the Washington Business Journal. On the office side, Atlanta-based Kellen Company relocated its headquarters into the building in March 2024, doubling its footprint to 32,000 square feet with help from the city's Vitality Fund incentive grant program, Commercial Observer reported.
Part of a Bigger D.C. Expansion Push
The Pocket's arrival fits into a broader pattern for Dawson, a D.C. native who has designed, built, or operated more than 40 nightlife and entertainment venues over a 30-plus-year career, starting with Bedrock Billiards in 1992 and later expanding into Atomic Billiards, Penn Social, Rocket Bar, and Astro Beer Hall, according to Washingtonian. Just one week before The Pocket was announced, Dawson and partners Hess, David, and Magana revealed plans for The Porch & Pebbles, a dual-level restaurant and pool hall taking over the former Meridian Pint and Makan space at 3400 11th St NW in Columbia Heights, Hoodline previously reported.
Dawson is also leading the effort to revive his flagship Buffalo Billiards, which closed its original Dupont Circle location in 2019 after a 25-year run during which it sold 10.8 million beers and recorded more than 1.7 million games of pool, per The MoCo Show. Dawson and co-owner Curt Large bought the former Source Theatre building at 1835 14th St NW for $4.5 million in 2025, with plans to reopen Buffalo Billiards there in spring 2026, closing a seven-year gap since the original closed.
Betting on Downtown's Slow Comeback
The Pocket's bet on a big basement space comes as downtown D.C. continues to wrestle with retail vacancy rates that hovered between 22% and 25% through 2025 and 2026, more than double pre-pandemic levels, according to the DowntownDC BID. Food and beverage venues have grown to make up more than half of total downtown retail space, up from 46% in 2019, the group found. By moving into a fully built-out basement rather than starting from scratch, The Pocket avoids heavy renovation costs while aiming to capture returning office foot traffic alongside demand for casual, affordable entertainment.
