DCNew OpeningsFrom the public records
All eight DC wards · updated daily

New restaurants, shops and businesses. In every ward.

Every new DC basic business license with a premises in the District, sorted by ward. 109 new in the last 14 days.

Free: the names every Monday, plus this map. Pro, $29/month: street addresses, 90 days of history and CSV. See plans

The Monday list

The week’s new names, from the public record

Pick your ward and we send its new listings every Monday: name, category and city. Pro adds the street address, 90 days of history and CSV for the whole map.

Free weekly email

New in your ward, every Monday

The week’s new names for one ward, in one short email. Free, no account.

We only email you about DC New Openings. Unsubscribe any time.

What this covers. New licenses at DC addresses, from all trades. We filter out rentals, salespeople and other non-storefronts, but some offices and home businesses remain. DC gives no forward date, so a license can arrive close to the first day of business.

Monday morning

Streets Market just landed on the Ward 2 list.

Shop & retail in Washington. Status: new business license. A new place needs a POS, insurance, signs, supplies and staff. If you sell any of that, this is the name you want on your desk on Monday, with the week still ahead of you.

That’s a real row from DC Basic Business License file (DLCP), not a sample. The free email gives you the names. Pro gives you the address and more.

Get the Ward 2 list, free See Ward 2 now

From the public records, updated daily

New in all eight DC wards, by the numbers

109 new in the last 14 days
35 in the last 7 days
109 hold a new business license
20 ZIP codes with a new listing

New openings per day

Last 21 days, by source

New basic business licenses
0481216Oct 15Oct 20Oct 25Oct 30Nov 4
See the numbers
DayNew basic business licenses
Oct 1512
Oct 1613
Oct 170
Oct 180
Oct 1911
Oct 2014
Oct 2112
Oct 2212
Oct 2311
Oct 240
Oct 251
Oct 2613
Oct 2716
Oct 289
Oct 2912
Oct 3012
Oct 311
Nov 10
Nov 22
Nov 38
Nov 40

“Last 7 days” above is the newest 7 days of this chart added up (see the numbers). Dates are the source date for rows from our first read, then the day a row first appeared in the file we read. Files update on their own schedules, so some rows arrive in batches.

By ward

Last 14 days

  • Ward 2 36
  • Ward 5 14
  • Ward 3 13
  • Ward 6 13
  • Ward 4 10
  • Ward 7 10
  • Ward 8 7
  • Ward 1 6

By category

Last 14 days

  • Shop & services 82
  • Restaurant 7
  • Contractor 5
  • Grocery & deli 4
  • Shop & retail 3
  • Caterer & venue 2
  • Gym & fitness 2
  • Salon & beauty 2
  • Other 2

The pipeline

Last 14 days, by what the state shows

  • 109 New license. A DC Basic Business License first issued in this window, at a DC premises.

Busiest ZIP codes

Last 14 days

ZIPCityNewTop category
20002Washington14Shop & services
20001Washington11Shop & services
20006Washington9Shop & services
20007Washington8Shop & services
20036Washington7Shop & services
20003Washington6Shop & services
20005Washington6Shop & services
20009Washington5Shop & services
20018Washington5Shop & services
20019Washington5Shop & services

Eight wards, live now

Pick your ward

We cover these eight wards today. Each one has its own list, category pages and week-by-week archive.

By category

New openings by category

How it works

The paperwork shows up first

A new business leaves a public paper trail. That trail is how we see openings coming.

Step 1

The record gets published

To operate in the District, a business needs a Basic Business License. DC publishes each one with its first-issue date and ward.

Step 2

We read and sort it

We read the file every day and keep licenses first issued recently. We leave out premises outside DC, rentals, salespeople, parking attendants, charities and other non-storefront types.

Step 3

You see it, with its limits

A license is issued close to the start of operating, so it isn't a months-ahead signal. Some are offices or home businesses, and a street address with a unit number often is.

Who it’s for

Built for people who sell to new businesses

Plans

Free list, or Pro for the full picture

Everything below is live today.

Free

$0

The names, every Monday.

  • Monday email for your ward: name, category and city
  • The live map of the last 14 days in eight wards
  • 3 free street addresses
Join the free list
Pro

DC New Openings Pro

$29/month

Cancel any time. New Pro members can get a full refund within 14 days.

  • Street address on every listing, plus licensee and phone where public
  • 90 days of history, not just the last 14
  • CSV of any map view, or eight wards at once
  • Monday alerts for the wards you pick, addresses included

Secure checkout by Stripe. Appears on your statement as DC NEW OPENINGS, billed by HD Signals LLC. Questions? Contact us.

Guides

How openings show up in public records

Plain-English explainers on the state sources behind every list, and how we turn them into openings.

Guide

How we spot DC openings

The public records behind DC New Openings, how we decide what's new, and what we can't see.

Guide

How a DC Basic Business License works

Categories, first issue date, and how to tell a storefront from a home office in the file.

Be first in your ward

Eight wards are live, and next Monday’s list is already filling up. It’s free to join.

Get the free Monday list