1160 1st St, NE:
A new Starbucks is coming to the corner of 1st and M St, NE.
This is in the Archstone building, which we judged back in Feb. 2012.
coffee
1152 15th Street, NW
Bean and Bite is soft opening on Friday at 1152 15th St, NW just south of M Street. Their Website says:
Bean & Bite is a modern, fast, and casual delicatessen that serves as the go-to destination for unique house-made pastries, confections, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Experience inviting aromas of fresh-baked goods that create a cozy and friendly neighborhood gathering place. We have a friendly and approachable staff delivering fresh food efficiently in a casual yet sophisticated environment. Bean & Bite offers a great selection of premium brewed coffee and espresso procured from all over the United States.
You can see their menu here.
M Street, NW just west of 19th Street
In early Aug. we noted that Sweet Diablo coming to coming 19th and M St, NW looked close to opening. I stopped by yesterday and found out they’d be soft opening this morning with a grand opening in September. To start they will be open from 7:30am-6:30pm with possible later hours on Thurs. and Fri.
Originally from Portugal, they have other locations in Spain, Brazil and Australia. This will be their first US location (with plans for more to come.)
Here’s what they’re famous for:
But the cafe will offer more than chocolate cake including cheese cake, other pastries, coffee, tea, juices, salads and Paoninis (their version of paninis):
Check out the full menu after the jump. (more…)
621 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Pound the Hill opened up at 621 Pennsylvania Ave, SE in March 2011 (at about the same time they closed their NoMa location.) Pound the Hill’s Bistro launched in Jan. 2012.
Eater DC interviewed owner Karl Johnson:
How close are you to being forced to close?
That’s a really hard question to answer in this industry just because of the nature of how random cash flow is at some times. We’re in a pretty bad situation. We’re doing absolutely everything we can to not let that happen. That’s kind of why I sent out that email was not to say “we’re closed tomorrow” but to basically say, “this is very, very, very realistic that this might happen” and put my pride aside and say, basically, come help me.
600 Florida Ave, NW
Bistro Bohem opened up in March at the corner of 6th and Florida Ave, NW. Their cafe featuring coffee and pastries, Cafe Bohem, is getting ready to open next door to the Bistro in the former Zee restaurant space. They plan on opening right around Labor Day. Photos courtesy of Cafe Bohem:
1501 Connecticut Avenue, NW
The newly renovated Starbucks just north of Dupont Circle turned out pretty nice.
Despite the extra space still pretty crowded…
1501 Connecticut Avenue, NW
The Starbucks just north of Dupont Circle reopens next Tuesday July 17th.
I’m eager to see how the 2nd floor turns out:
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mylar Bono
Dear PoPville,
I was refused service at Chinatown Coffee Co. in DC, a neighborhood establishment that I frequent quite often. Why? I ordered three shots of espresso over ice. What I didn’t realize is that espresso and ice is a huge controversy among coffee critics. Where there is no disagreement, however, is that customers are still king – even in an indie/hipster coffee shop. It was disappointing, to say the least, the barista, refused my business and then insulted me on the way out the door. A similar encounter is offered in this blog post about Murky Coffee in Arlington.
Here is the play-by-play in my Yelp review:
Here’s the play-by-play for anyone who’s interested (including the management):
Him: “Hi. What can I get for you?”
Me: “I’d like 3 shots of espresso over a cup of ice to go.”
Him: “I can’t do that. I could make you an americano instead. I has water in it.”
Me: “No thanks. I’d like a cup with ice with 3 shots of espresso poured over it.”
Him: “We don’t do that because it will ruin it. We make the best espresso in the city and putting it over ice will shock it.”
Me: [long pause] “Really?”
Him: “Aww… did I just ruin your day?”
Me: “So you can’t make this drink?”
Him: “No.”
Before I had even said another word, he had already walked away.
Chinatown Coffee responded to the OP:
We take customer concerns about service and quality seriously.
Having said that, we simply do not serve espresso to go or over ice. We do our best to communicate the reasons for this and hope the customers understand that we do so as part of our commitment to serving the highest quality coffee, not to snobbery or to be rude to our customers–that’s not our intent. Sometimes our customers have a different view, and we respect that.
What do you think – is the customer always right or is that trumped by commitment to serving the highest quality coffee?
3514 12th Street, NE
Huge news for Brookland residents – the owners of three rock solid spots on U St and H St are combining forces to open a new bar, grill and coffee lounge in Brookland. This could be the biggest thing to hit Brookland since the Pope visited The Basilica. The owners of The Pug, 1234 H St, NE – Tony T; Solly’s, 11th and U St, NW – John Solomon; and Sova – 1359 H St, NE – Frank Hankins are coming to the former Library space at 3514 12th St, NE near the Brookland metro:
I spoke with Pug owner and Brookland resident Tony T who explains their vision for the space:
We are putting together a family friendly, neighborhood bar and grill. The coffee element that Frank brings is also an integral part of what we are doing.
I live just a few blocks away, so I’m looking to make a place where I can take the kids to dinner as well as a place the softball team can come for a few pitchers after a game. the neighborhood bar feel is very important, but with the chef we’re bringing on board, the menu is going to be much broader than hot dogs and 13th street meats off of the Pug’s grill. Although both may be included to keep the kids happy.
The long and short of it is, we want a place to eat and drink that caters to the families and folks who have been in Brookland for years, as well as a place for the newer folks.
Coffee in the morning and beer at night – sweet!
They are still finalizing their liquor license transfer and some other logistics so realistically standby for an Autumn opening. More details on the menu (and the name of the place!) as they get closer to opening.
Last week I I mentioned that the Dupont Starbucks at 1501 Connecticut Avenue, NW was getting renovated. But I had no idea how serious these renovations were:
And the outside is getting completely cleaned as well:
