WeShall Hospitality Expands to the U.S. with the Opening of Isla and Goodlove in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. (2025) – WeShall Hospitality, a portfolio company under WeShall Investments Inc., proudly announces the opening of Isla, a globally inspired fine-dining restaurant celebrating island flavors, and Goodlove, a sultry music-driven cocktail lounge, both located in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s Midtown Center. Isla officially opens its doors on October 29, followed by Goodlove on November 7.
Marking the company’s first expansion into the United States, this venture represents the next chapter in WeShall’s growing hospitality portfolio.
“WeShall Hospitality has always been rooted in culture and connection. We build rooms where people feel seen, not just served,” said Wes Hall, Founder and Executive Chairman of WeShall Investments Inc. “Washington, D.C. is a city of ideas, diversity and influence. A place where cultures meet and ideas move the world forward. It’s exactly where we want to plant our flag, because what we’re building at WeShall is bigger than a restaurant. It’s about bringing people together through food, music, and story, and D.C. feels like home for that.”
“My grandmother used to sell pudding, and it was good quality. I learned the art of hospitality from her: the care, the warmth, the pride in making something simple taste extraordinary. She taught me that hospitality is an art, not a transaction. Every bowl she made had love and intention in it. I carry that lesson with me today, that food should feed the soul, not just the stomach. That’s what we’re bringing to Washington, food with soul, service with love, and an experience that feels like home.”
At Isla, Executive Chef Lonie Murdock presents a border-crossing menu that blends Caribbean soul with global sophistication, while Goodlove helmed by restaurateur Darren Hinds offers an intimate escape of rhythm, style, and impeccable cocktails. Together, they bring a distinctly Toronto energy to the U.S. capital: bold, inclusive, and world-class.
The minds behind Toronto’s WeShall Hospitality and its beloved, celebrity-favorite Miss Likklemore’s, The Good Son and Maxime’s, Murdock and Hinds were personally drawn to Washington DC for their latest concepts because of the city’s internationalism, eclectic interests and intellectually minded residents. In Washington, the pair teamed up with frequent partner and veteran restaurateur Hanif Harji, already established in Washington with Casamara and Reynold’s bar.
“On our trips to Washington, we quickly fell in love with the city’s diverse food scene and the energy of its nightlife,” said Murdock. “We felt an organic connection to the community here and saw an opportunity to share our own perspective while becoming part of a culinary culture that’s always evolving.”
At Isla, Murdock’s menu reflects heritage and modernity, tradition and experimentation. Drawing on her own bicultural experience as the child of a Caribbean mother and Canadian father exposed to a world of cuisines, Murdock has crafted complex, elevated dishes that spotlight the beauty of ingredients common to the diaspora, enlivened by open-fire cooking and the playfulness of familiar flavors reimagined.
Designed by Solid Design Creative, both venues embody transportive elegance. The restaurant’s noteworthy high ceiling, however, makes space for the restaurant’s singular showstopper: A custom, blush-pink chandelier measuring 8 feet by 10 feet, cascading down over the main dining room.
Steps away, Goodlove is an ideal complement to Isla’s elegance, a respite from the grind of the workday, a place for lovers of music and style, where a chic sensibility reigns and the latest beats pour from a custom soundsystem and fill the room. Maximalism is the guiding design principle here: Fluid draping envelops bargoers and a boldly patterned carpet beckons the eyes, adding to the sense of escapism. Jaguar table lamps, fringed accents and a subtle glow coming from seven custom chandeliers custom-commissioned for Goodlove underscore the sense of discovery and play.
“With both Isla and Goodlove, we sought to create bold and theatrical spaces, transporting guests into layered and glamorous vignettes where something new is revealed with every glance,” says Ian Rydberg, founder and principal designer of Solid Design Creative. “Every detail — from Isla’s warm lighting and elegant chandelier to Goodlove’s jungle-inspired aesthetic and playfully bold flooring — helps to set the stage for an unforgettable evening at this incredible restaurant and cocktail lounge.”
At 2,200 square feet, Goodlove is the perfect place to enjoy nightly happy hours and snack on small bites from the Isla kitchen or ensconce oneself with friends for a late night – or date night – filled with sipping and people-watching. Here, as the bar’s slogan aptly declares, good music is good music, and Goodlove is good love. With Isla and Goodlove, WeShall Hospitality continues its mission of “creating experiences that unite culture, community, and craftsmanship across borders.”
Isla and Goodlove are now open to the public:
📍 Midtown Center – 1100 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit IslaDC.com and Goodlovedc.com.