Former Almaz Ethiopian Restaurant Undergoing Major Renovations on U St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Almaz was located at 1212 U St, NW. A reader writes:

“So Almaz is closed for renovations. We just walked down U St and they were working on it on a Friday night, which I thought was strange. I asked one of the workers whether Almaz was reopening and he said no, it would be an American food place. I peeked in at the reno and it did look very nice.”

I also asked some of the workers what the new place would be and they echoed the same as above, it will focus on “American food”. They did not know what the new name would be but they said they expected to reopen in a few weeks.

Were there any fans of Almaz?

Random Reader Rant and/or Revel

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Nikoo’s Photos

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every morning at 10am.

Georgetown Landmark, National Jewel Center, Closing Aug. 31st – Building for Sale

By Prince Of Petworth

The National Jewel Center is located at 1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW. You can’t miss it because it has the old (neon?) Georgetown sign out front. I went in to speak with the owners after seeing the for sale sign in their window. They said the last day is Aug. 31st though most of the store has already been cleared out. They said they’ve been open for over 20 years and back in the day the space used to be a theater. Cinematour says:

“Opened as the Dumbarton in 1913, a playhouse, this theater started showing movies sometime later. It was designed by architect William Nichols.

Located on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, the movie house was renamed the Georgetown in 1947. It was also remodeled around this time in Streamline Moderne style. The Georgetown was closed in 1986 and is today used for retail.”

According to the for sale info the space is 6,086 sq ft (though no price is listed.)

While the space needs tons of work the potential is amazing. I know it’s a long shot but I’m gonna hope for a cinema pub/drafthouse.

Daily Craps Game Advertised?

By Prince Of Petworth

That’s to PoPville twitter follower @SonnyBunch for sending the above photo from what looks like 14th St, NW in Columbia Heights. He writes simply:

“So, this is pretty brazen.”

Anyone else every see fliers posted for crap games?

Garden of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

This good looking green one from Columbia Heights looks like it has benefited from all the rain we’ve recently gotten.

The 5pm Post – The Petworth Jazz Project this Sat.

By Prince Of Petworth


8th and Taylor St, NW

From an email:

“The Petworth Jazz Project will host the fourth show of the summer Saturday,August 13th, at 6:30 pm! Get there early to grab a blanket and chill to the opening DJ set by i:Wah.

Live music will be provided by Akua Allrich, at 6:45pm.

This is a FREE, outdoor evening of great local jazz, on the lawn at 8th and Taylor, NW, at the Petworth Rec Center. Blankets provided while they last.

This event takes place on the second Saturday of each month through September.

All shows begin 90 minutes before sunset.

Please go to the website at www.petworthjazzproject.co​m for more details.”

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