Dan Kablaoui is not trying to build a bar. He is trying to build a platform.
That distinction explains almost everything about PubKey.
Yes, it serves burgers, beers, hot dogs, and wings. Yes, it has the energy of a neighborhood tavern. Yes, people come in before games, after concerts, and on weekends looking for a good time. But underneath the food and drinks is a much bigger idea: use hospitality to bring digital communities into the real world.
PubKey began in New York, when a beloved West Village dive bar space opened up after COVID. The pandemic had scattered much of the city’s Bitcoin community, sending founders, builders, and believers to places like Florida and Texas. The opportunity was not just to open another bar. It was to rebuild a gathering place. So they did.
The Idea
The original location became a neighborhood hangout with a second identity. Locals could come in for a beer and never think twice about Bitcoin. Others could walk in specifically because of it. That duality became the model.
“90% of our customers have no idea we have anything to do with Bitcoin,” Kablaoui said.
That is the genius of it. PubKey does not force ideology at the front door. It leads with hospitality. Curious guests discover the rest when they are ready.
A ticker on the wall sparks a question. A bartender starts a conversation. Someone pays for a round in Bitcoin and gets a discount. The learning happens casually, not through a lecture but through lived experience.
That same mindset shaped the move into Washington, D.C., where policy, technology, and influence collide daily.
More Than Four Walls
Most operators look at square footage and see seats, sales, and rent. PubKey sees infrastructure.
Its Washington location spans 14,000 square feet, with a bar, event venue, podcast studio, production equipment, office tenants, and a stage built for live experiences. Brands can host events. Founders can record podcasts. Communities can gather. Sponsors can activate. Content can be captured and distributed instantly.
It is a restaurant, but it is also a media company.
That matters because traditional hospitality revenue has limits. Food and beverage sales rise and fall with traffic, weather, seasonality, and labor costs. Media, sponsorship, partnerships, and event production create entirely different ways to grow.
PubKey’s sponsors include companies like Gemini, which helped fund production assets and the stage itself. Organizations like the Bitcoin Policy Institute operate from inside the building. Others host meetups, forums, and educational events that turn the venue into a living ecosystem.
For Kablaoui, the physical buildout is only half the story. The real value comes from what the room makes possible.
Future Of Restaurant Broadcasting
A birthday party can become a livestream. A panel discussion becomes social content. A meetup becomes a recurring community touchpoint. A one-night event becomes months of clips, photos, and reach.
“We are fully set up to capture it,” he said.
That sentence may be the future of hospitality.
Because the next generation of great venues will not just serve the people in the room. They will serve the audience beyond it.
PubKey still sells burgers and beer.
It just happens to sell belonging, storytelling, and distribution too.
National Restaurant Show 2026
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