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DC finally has a honky tonk, and it rode into Union Market on a vintage Chevy

Desert 5 Spot, the country-western bar that packed out LA and New York, brings live music, a mechanical bull, and a mezcal-heavy cocktail list to 400 Morse Street NE.

DC finally has a honky tonk, and it rode into Union Market on a vintage Chevy

There is a mechanical bull on the second floor of a warehouse on Morse Street NE. It has a full-time operator. His name is Outlaw Chris, and he used to rope cattle.

That detail tells you nearly everything you need to know about Desert 5 Spot DC, the country-western bar and live-music venue that opened September 5 in Union Market. DC had Hill Country for years, then didn't, and the gap has been conspicuous. Ten Five Hospitality's answer is bigger, louder, and considerably more theatrical than whatever you're imagining right now.

The bar started in Los Angeles in 2021, expanded to New York City, and the DC outpost at 400 Morse St. NE is the biggest one yet: two floors, two stages, a rooftop cactus garden, and a DJ booth made from an actual Chevy truck. The name comes from the desert five-spot, a flowering plant native to the Mojave. The whole thing reads like someone combined Joshua Tree with a Nashville roadhouse and dropped it inside a Union Market warehouse.

The room

Snakeskin wallpaper lines the walls. Chairs are built from old Jack Daniels whiskey barrels. Horse saddles have been converted into bar seats. Upstairs, the rooftop terrace is planted with cacti and prickly pears, fabricated from scrap metal, because "DC doesn't exactly have the climate for real cactus," as managing partner Dan Daley put it. The neon signs are vintage. The vibe is aggressively committed.

Downstairs is where the live music happens, around small tables and a proper bar. The two-story setup runs two separate stages for live entertainment, which means you can genuinely move from an acoustic set on the first floor to a DJ set on the second without losing the thread of the night.

The music

Ten Five hired a house band. Actor and singer Shawn Parsons, who has led the house band at the NYC location, also performs here. Scouts are booking talent from Nashville to Richmond. The programming philosophy is pretty clear: "We're big fans of '90s country, you know, the Alan Jacksons of the world, the Shania Twains. We like to play the hits," Daley says.

Cowboy Karaoke runs every Wednesday with a live band behind you. Sundays bring a Bluegrass Brunch, plus line dancing led by the Buck Wild team imported from New York. It is not optional that people dress for the occasion. The dress code encourages a country and western look; the website puts it simply: "It's boot country around here."

The bull

Outlaw Chris runs the ride Wednesday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. A normal ride at Desert 5 Spot runs between 30 and 60 seconds, which is well above the eight-second threshold required to score in actual rodeo competition. When you get bucked, you land in a custom-built pen that feels like a bounce house. They're reportedly considering offering shots for anyone who can stay on past a certain point, something they already do in New York.

The food and drinks

Chef Thomas McKenna, a Jean-Georges alum, runs the kitchen. The American comfort food menu includes Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, wood-fired steak, smoked pork spareribs, and wedge and chopped salads. Downstairs, they sling Americana classics alongside specialty cocktails, frozen margaritas, and cold beers.

The cocktail names earn their keep. The Ring of Fire combines mezcal, Ancho Reyes, prickly pear, and lime. The Jolene mixes tequila, strawberry, watermelon, and lime. Happy hour runs daily from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with $9 food and house cocktails, plus $5 beers and hard seltzers. That's a deal in this neighborhood.

A word about context

It's easy to read Desert 5 Spot as a concept import, LA idea, New York polish, DC as the latest stop on a franchise tour. Daley is a Georgetown alum, for what it's worth, and Ten Five runs hotel and restaurant ventures across the country rather than a strict replica model. The DC room is the largest of the three, and the programming is being sourced locally rather than parachuted in whole from New York. "Desert 5 Spot has always been about great live country music, strong drinks, and zero pretense, just a place where friends can meet and have a good time," Daley said.

What the city gets out of it is harder to be cynical about. The country-western scene here has been undersupplied for years. Opening weekend reviews noted waits of twenty minutes at the bar, and people were wearing their boots.

Know before you go

  • Address: 400 Morse St. NE, Washington, DC 20002
  • Hours: Wednesday 5:30 p.m. to midnight; Thursday 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Sunday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday
  • Happy hour: Daily 5:30 to 8 p.m., $9 food and cocktails, $5 beers
  • Mechanical bull: Thursday to Saturday, 7 p.m. to midnight (Outlaw Chris presiding)
  • Cowboy Karaoke: Every Wednesday with a live backing band
  • Bluegrass Brunch and line dancing: Sundays
  • Dress code: Country and western encouraged; leave the athleisure at home

Sources

WDCM Editorial
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WDCM Editorial is the byline on news and feature stories produced through Washington DC Magazine's editorial process — AI-assisted research, reviewed and approved by Editor-in-Chief Rod Wright.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: RODRIQUEZ WRIGHT II

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