Historic Diner Makes it to DC

SUC50014, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Thanks to Nichole for snapping some photos of the diner. And for those that missed it in the comments yesterday here’s word from the owner of Jimmy Valentine’s:

“hey y’all, owner of jimmy valentine’s here. this diner is directly between the one-block distance from my house in trinidad to my bar on bladensburg rd. i know matt & patrick well and have watched the course of their project firsthand. i’ve also been watching them try to drop the diner in place all day (it’s approved to go in now). they have bent over backwards to meet DCRA code throughout this process, they have built everything correctly, and have had met with unnecessary ‘frustration’, shall we say most gently, at every turn. the silly difficulty of today’s process has been financially wasteful, and isn’t it remarkable that an attempt to bring a positive business to a blighted neighborhood can attract such negative attention from authorities in a place that can’t otherwise seem to get any?

that being said, i’ve been a home-owner here for nearly 6 years and have never once encountered any problems with my neighbors and people on the street here (jimmy valentine’s has zero police reports to its address in nearly 2 years since opening). simple truth is that where there’s no prey, there are no predators, and i call bullsh*t on whoever commented on “[ducking automatic gunfire]” last time they were in our ‘hood. nobody shot at you “hilltop”, especially next to CVS as you claim (”h and bladensburg”). corner drug dealers trump muggers; dealers won’t allow that kind of crime because of the police attention it draws. of course, now that more businesses are moving here we’ll soon attract the kind of criminals that plague dupont, georgetown, adams morgan, u st., and increasingly on h st…

commentary & rant aside, the diner itself is a bona fide ‘47. it’s deceptively small, it’s way cool, and it actually fits the street/landscape here like it’s been here all along (though honestly it’s currently more like a mirage looking off my back deck after years of nothing but shady used car dealers). matt & patrick are hard-working and honest people pursuing their vision completely out of their own pocket and i’m confident they’ll get the food and menu right. the intense problem-solving you witnessed today is just the tip of the iceburg and they’ve got no safety net in this venture. few people have that kind of fortitude.

best of luck boys, i never thought the day would come when a 20-bag would no longer be the first commodity available walking out my front or back door : )

mark @ jimmy valentine’s lonely hearts club”