PoPville » Huge Coffee News: Peregrine Espresso Expanding to 1718 14th St, NW in Logan Circle

Huge Coffee News: Peregrine Espresso Expanding to 1718 14th St, NW in Logan Circle

Peregrine Espresso Current location at 660 Pennsylvania Ave SE

Huge news spread on twitter late Friday afternoon. But this is not late Friday afternoon news, this is huge Mon. Morning news. Especially for those who live near Logan Circle. On their blog Peregrine Espresso wrote:

“We are pleased to announce that we are working on a new store in NW DC. We have recently signed a lease on the storefront at 1718 14th St NW formerly occupied by Flowers on 14th (which moved a few doors down).”

When we discussed the best latte in town Peregrine Espresso’s current location at 660 Pennsylvania Ave SE, near Eastern Market, was mentioned.

I take three things particularly serious in life – pizza, bars and coffee. Therefore I consider this huge news. I found it interesting to note that on their blog, Peregrine Espresso also said,

“We are also thrilled to be joining our friends at MidCity Caffe and Blackbyrd Warehouse (coming soon) to create quite a wonderful trio of great coffee options along that strip.”

I think that’s a lovely sentiment but, to speak honestly, if I was MidCity Caffe (1626 14th Street, NW) I’d be terrified at this announcement. They are located super close to the new Peregrine spot and unless Peregrine plans on sharing profits, Mid City Caffe will certainly lose some customers to Peregrine Espresso.

What do you guys think – can that section of 14th St, NW support two proper coffee shops?

For those who live nearby, if you had to choose, will you hit Peregrine or MidCity for your coffee needs?

Category: coffee, Coming and Going, Logan Circle

By: Prince Of Petworth | 15 August 2010 9:32 PM | 21 Comments

Fritz Hubig

Peregrine is the single best coffee shop in DC bar none, with Chinatown Coffee coming in a medium second. I am so impressed by the staff and professionalism. They cater to true connoisseurs, so other shops should worry indeed, but there are plenty of people who like their coffee “boring” for their competitors to stick around..

August 15, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Gumpper

Agreed that Peregrine is the best in town (although I’m enjoying Filter a lot these days. However, Mid City has a different vibe, and without denigrating those enjoy it, I suspect it will survive having Peregrine in the neighborhood.

August 15, 2010 at 10:24 pm
rockcreek

Finally, some *welcome* scuttlebutt!

August 16, 2010 at 8:01 am
tsmyk

Peregrine is great. I suspect that PoP’s fears of profit sharing with MidCity may be too pessimistic. Three good coffee shops on 14th (and MidCity is very good, though not as good as Peregrine in my view), more retail (Room and Board is doing a huge marketing push), fewer abandoned storefronts all make for more traffic overall. MidCity could see itself getting a smaller slice of a much larger pie, especially if you look out a couple of years.

August 16, 2010 at 8:03 am
IntangibleArts

Bring it. Baby wants his speed.

August 16, 2010 at 8:57 am
a-Bomb

Peregrin, hands down. I’ve only been to MCC once, and it took about 20 minutes to get my iced coffee. Not a latte, but an ICED COFFEE. It was great, but not worth the wait.

August 16, 2010 at 9:07 am
- Polytasker
  
  It’s also really, really expensive – I tried it a couple of months ago and accidentally dropped $9 on a latte and a little pack of cookies. That’s definitely the last time I’ll walk in without asking how much stuff costs.
  
  August 16, 2010 at 4:31 pm
OTBerbur

This is hard to assess for one not in the business. At peak demand periods, there seems to be more than enough clientele at the coffeehouses on 14th St. that seats can be hard to find and there would be sufficient business for another market entrant to share. (Sometimes it is not clear whether this is because of demand for espresso, or demand for a table on which to park one’s laptop.) What I don’t know is how frequent (or, for that matter, profitable) peak demand periods are — when I have gone to Mid-City at 7:30 am on weekday mornings for breakfast, the place has generally been deserted. (At the same hour, the Caribou a few blocks to the south is always bustling.) In any event, the quality of coffee and espresso drinks at Mid-City is sufficiently high — way better than any place currently in the neighborhood — it should hold its own.

August 16, 2010 at 9:23 am
Anonymous

Mid City is good quality, but they charge over $2 for a small coffee. Too much, and now that they have competition it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll lower their prices.

August 16, 2010 at 9:40 am
- RD
  
  $2 is a lot for a coffee? it is if you are getting it poured out of a big pre-made pot. but if you are getting a premium cup made to order, i don’t think over $2 is unreasonable at all.
  
  August 16, 2010 at 10:28 am
- Caroline
  
  I’m pretty sure Peregrine’s small coffee is also $2.
  
  August 16, 2010 at 5:06 pm
andy

coming from a yuppie, I would love news of favored yuppie goods distributors of some kind coming to areas not already overserved with yuppie goods, e.g., Logan Circle area.

August 16, 2010 at 9:46 am
Peter Kramtush

This news is bigger than coffee itself, but someone should let them know that the first e on their sign is upside down. Easy mistake, I know, but it does not reflect well on the quality and consistency of their coffee, good as it may be.

August 16, 2010 at 9:55 am
- Anonymous
  
  like this
  
  August 16, 2010 at 1:11 pm
12th Place

Mid City coffee is very good, but:

- The place is tiny, and personally I prefer to be able to watch passers-by while I sit in a cafe. It feels a little claustrophobic up on the second floor where they are, not to mention so quiet that I would never go there to have a conversation with someone for fear I would disturb everyone.

- It takes them FOREVER to fill an order. I was there yesterday and waited 20 minutes for black coffee and a bagel.

- It’s a bit scene-y for my taste.

August 16, 2010 at 10:38 am
anon

Every time I get irritated in the length of time it takes Perrigrine to individually brew each precious cup of drip coffee I occasionally order, I’m instantly smacked across the face at the deliciousness of the first sip. And SO much better than Murky ever was

August 16, 2010 at 11:06 am
Bag o' nails

That’s my friend, Jeanine, in the photo foreground!

August 16, 2010 at 12:27 pm
a@gmail.com

I went to MCC this weekend and was pleasantly surprised, as it was my first time back since the few times I went right after they opened. They have a lot of plugs in the room with the bar stools, which was great! I usually go to U St Cafe, but I hate their 1 hour of internet policy. Btw MCC, Cafe Collage, and Peregrine, I feel like I will have an alternative work space for every mood. The more the merrier.

August 16, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Petworthian

Mid City is OK for a wi fi break, but their food menu is very limited. I like the location for a break before catching a bus down 14th to the office or doing some paperwork, web surfing…but if I have a choice I’ll skip the stairs.
Don’t forget the crepe place, I had PoP’s favorite of cheese, avocado and tomato – it was great! They have coffee too.

August 16, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Jason

Why couldn’t peregrine have moved to Columbia Heights? We have some very sad excuses for coffee houses up here.

August 16, 2010 at 8:21 pm
CoffeeLover

Woo hoo! For you coffee lovers out there, there’s also Filter on 20th and S which is definitely a “proper” coffee shop. Not close to 14th St but if you’re in Dupont and thinking about Crapbucks, this place is definitely worth the extra block or two. In fact, it’s worth several blocks — I skip the coffee shop right next to my place and walk 5 blocks to Filter instead.

August 17, 2010 at 10:18 am