District One

Founded in 2020 by culture writer Dan Q. Dao, District One is a an editorial studio specializing in cultural storytelling and strategic communications for food, drink, and hospitality brands. Our core services includes brand positioning, copywriting, PR, and events.

Our team’s vast experience across journalism and hospitality ranges from contributing to leading media publications to working at top bars and restaurants. With both traditional industry expertise and a finger on the pulse of emerging trends, we think like writers to distill the most essential and compelling aspects of a brand’s story—then act as the in-house marketing team to scale messaging across owned and earned media channels.

We represent a portfolio of diverse, culture-centric businesses who share our values of quality, inclusivity, and sustainability. From established businesses to new rising stars, our curated clientele are regularly featured in titles such as the New York Times, GQ, Vice, Buzzfeed, Food and Wine, Forbes, Eater, and many more.

District One is named after the frenetic downtown hub of Saigon, Vietnam’s largest metropolis. We channel the raw energy of Saigon, and the unmatched creativity of our home base of New York City, to all of the projects that we take on.