A Decade in the Making: Rich Grillz Opens in Washington

The DMV's best known name in custom grillz just crossed into the District. On July 19, 2026, Rich Grillz held the grand opening of its first Washington, DC location, a milestone for a Black-owned brand that has spent more than a decade turning gold and silver into cultural statements.

The new shop sits at 2201 Channing Street NE, in the heart of Northeast Washington. The opening was staged as a community activation rather than a sales pitch, doors open to everyone, no purchase required, and free champagne for anyone who came to vibe and see the space. The message on the flyer was short and full of feeling. Washington, DC, we're home.

For anyone who missed the ribbon, the shop is open for business going forward. Store hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 11 in the morning to 6 in the evening, and Friday and Sunday from 3 to 7. Appointments can be booked at richgrillz.com, where clients can also start the molding process that every custom set begins with.

The DC store is an expansion, not a relocation. Rich Grillz built its name out of Lothian, Maryland, and grew into what the brand calls the leader in dental regalia for DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Its founder, who goes by Rich, has spent more than ten years crafting custom gold and silver dental regalia, and the shop has become known for far more than grillz, offering custom necklaces, pendants, bracelets, engagement rings, wedding bands, and fine jewelry.

What sets the brand apart is the way it fuses craftsmanship with culture and scholarship. Rich's own Instagram bio, where the brand has built a following of more than 66,000, describes custom grillz as cultural luxury and handcrafted artifacts, and lists a PhD in Africology and African American Studies. That framing runs through the whole operation, positioning grillz not as flash but as adornment with history and meaning.

He has also turned the business into a teaching platform. Through the Blackprint Podcast, Rich shares the story of building Rich Grillz and offers strategies for other entrepreneurs looking to create Black-owned businesses rooted in cultural authenticity. It is the kind of pay-it-forward move that turns a single shop into a blueprint others can follow.

The expansion into the District is a statement in itself. A Black craftsman who started in a Maryland shop now has a foothold in the nation's capital, bringing jobs, artistry, and ownership into the city. For a brand whose motto is a style for every smile, planting a flag in DC is the clearest sign yet that the vision is working. Washington, they said, is home now.