Beyond the No-Phones Policy, Hush Harbor Is Big on Building Community

Beyond the No-Phones Policy, Hush Harbor Is Big on Building Community

Bargoers come to stop looking at Instagram for a few hours — and stay for the Southern cooking in an inviting space.

That commitment to “doing what feels right” is behind the name itself, with “hush harbors” referring to private gatherings of enslaved African-Americans where they would have conversations or pray in privacy, usually deep in the woods. Harper was introduced to the term by his mother, when she said “she needed a hush harbor in her town,” but after plenty of research he couldn’t find any definitive text on the tradition. They were supposed to be a secret place where public society didn’t intervene, and Harper says “Africans have a very oral tradition” so it makes sense that the term was only passed down verbally.

While there’s a spiritual connotation to the term, Harper says the custom included “ring shouts” with singing and stomping that seems similar to his experience growing up in Black churches, he’s focused on the community aspect of hush harbors. Rugs would be hung on trees around these gatherings to quiet conversations, so now there are elegant vintage rugs hung up on the walls of the former Hill Prince space, plus art installations by interior designer Max Glaser like an oyster shell-covered mantelpiece, plenty of green plants, and even soothing pastoral paintings transport to the forest and nature-filled spaces that hush harbors were traditionally held in. Harper jokes that the redesign is also “reminiscent of grandma’s house,” with dark wood bookcases and a whole serving set of antique silver laid out across one wall.

Velvet-covered couches and bar stools were added to the space, plus chairs you can sink into are placed around the cozy main room. There are also plenty of books, playing cards, and board games to keep bargoers entertained and help build connections while their phones are locked up in the fabric Yondr cases, which have a magnetic lock that can only be opened at the entrance of Hush Harbor.

Harper first experimented with rolling out his sandwiches from his Virginia restaurant, Queen Mother’s Kitchen, at Hill Prince when he bought the six-year-old neighborhood bar two years ago, but now he’s digging into his roots and experience at now-closed B. Smith’s to make comforting Southern dishes that easily can be shared at Hush Harbor. He says the braised kale with pot likker sauce ($6) and Cajun red beans and rice ($9), both served with smoked turkey and cornbread, are the most popular dishes so far, but his mother’s “angel eggs” ($10, rebranded from deviled eggs) are also a personal favorite that can be topped with lump crabmeat.

“I’m probably losing money… our price point is very approachable, our happy hour is amazing. I need to make money to keep the doors open, but I feel like, in this city, guests need something approachable,” Harper said of the low prices and the daily (yes, on weekends too) 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour that includes $5 beer and wine options, plus $10 cocktails. Instead of a $30 burger, he wanted to create a menu with plenty of options “under double digits” so anyone could afford dinner at the bar. He’s also planning to add more meat-free options to the menu, for vegan diners or carnivores that want something vegetable-heavy.

Cocktails stay classic with a bit of a spin, like a mezcal margarita with peach bitters or a mole-flavored Old Fashioned (both $15). The beer list also includes local D.C. brewers, like a black lager by Soul Mega Brewing.

Harper first got into no-phones events a few years ago, after meeting business partner and offline movement leader Danny Hogenkamp and bonding over the frustration of seeing people staring at their phones instead of enjoying themselves while out. They started talking about creating a no-phones speakeasy and tested a few no-phone events, like comedy shows and live music, in the back of Hill Prince before committing to having every patron and worker in the bar put their phones in personal locked-up bags.

Harper said he decided to have the policy encompass the whole bar because he doesn’t see the phone-free movement as a passing fad or gimmick, but an intentional choice to connect with the people around you.

“I’ve learned that in my career, because I have done things in the past because you think you’re supposed to, because it’s a trend… if it doesn’t feel right, I’m not going to do it,” he says.

Reliable Hill Prince patrons and new customers are enjoying the new unplugged atmosphere, with some people driving in from Baltimore and even Richmond, Virginia, just to visit the bar, according to Harper. His inbox is full of people wanting throw events at the space and “we definitely are attracting a new customer that I haven’t seen before,” he says.

More events will pop up in the phone-free space, as the Greater Washington Urban League has already been meeting in the back for over a year for mentorship workshops once a month. In the future, Harper plans to host book clubs, single nights, game nights, and plenty of live music, plus trivia and events for the nearby deaf community at Gallaudet University.