Hill Country to host game-day pop-up across the street from Nationals Park

Let's get the bad news out of the way: Hill Country's Backyard Barbecue, which has brought country music, smoked meat, margaritas and Shiner to the grassy lawn of the National Building Museum for the past two summers, will not return in 2015.

Instead, perhaps as soon as Friday, the Hill Country team is launching a summer pop-up called the Home Stand in a parking lot across the street from Nationals Park, at the corner of South Capitol and N streets. "If not this Friday, then by the next homestand," Hill Country representative Christina Graham said. The Nationals host the Phillies on Friday at 7:05 p.m.; they return to Nationals Park on Monday, June 1, against the Blue Jays.

[Related: New bars and restaurants near Nationals Park]

The site is currently a parking lot, and is slated to become another mix of retail and apartments later this year, according to a previous report in the Washington Business Journal. Back in 2013, we reported that Hill Country was considering opening a similar concept called the Hill Country Home Stand near the Department of Transportation, but plans for that venture fell through.

The Home Stand will be open whenever there's a home game at Nationals Park, beginning two hours before the first pitch. It will close two hours after the final out. Picnic table seating for 200 is promised, and the menu will be similar to the Backyard Barbecue, with chopped brisket sandwiches, smoked turkey sandwiches and hot link sausages on a bun, in addition to rotating specials. Beer and wine are "coming soon," according to an e-mail from Hill Country. The Home Stand has not yet acquired a liquor license, "but definitely will in the near future," Graham said.

The Home Stand, 1244 South Capitol Street SE. www.hillcountrywdc.com.