coffee

Mid City Caffe Closing Oct. 1st in Logan Circle

By Prince Of Petworth

First Sparky’s Cafe closes then Cafe 14U and now this…

Yesterday at 5pm I got the following sad press release:

“Logan Circle’s Mid City Caffe has announced that it will be closing for business. The final day of normal operation will be September 30, 2011 with limited hours of operation on October 1. The café was opened in 2009 by a pair of entrepreneurs who turned the interior of the former auto-body shop into a comfortable environment for the neighborhood’s residents to work, relax and socialize.

Unfortunately, the second-story location outside the downtown core proved underperforming. Limited accessibility restricted morning commuter and daytime foot-traffic, and while the café was blessed with a coterie of dedicated regulars, ultimately the volume simply was not there.

Known particularly as a gathering place for the neighborhood’s freelancers and creative professionals, Mid City Caffe proudly served coffee from Counter Culture Coffee and Caffe Pronto prepared by an expertly trained staff. The café’s closing will leave a gap in the expanding, but nightlife-focused, Fourteenth Street corridor.

It has been a pleasure to serve the Logan Circle neighborhood and to be apart of the city’s burgeoning specialty coffee scene. While the ownership and staff are excited to move on to other opportunities, they will miss their devoted customers.”

Mid City Caffe, located above Miss Pixie’s (also likely moving in 2012) at 1626 14th Street, NW, opened up back in Aug. ’09.

Coffee fans will now have to head to Peregrine which opened up down the block at 1718 14th St, NW in May ’11.

Do you guys think that the neighborhood couldn’t support both Peregrine and Mid City or do you think “the second-story location outside the downtown core” was Mid City’s downfall?

Shaw’s Tavern to Turn into a Coffee House?

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in late Aug. we learned that Shaw’s Tavern would be closing at 520 Florida Ave, NW until they got a liquor license.

On the Shaw listserv this morning the CCCA President wrote:

“StevenMay of #ShawsTavern walked passed the casa and told me the jont may reopen as coffeehouse w/o ABRA license. They r working on sidewalk”

I thought Mr. May was no longer affiliated with the project but maybe he heard some scuttlebutt? As of 11am there was no update on Shaw’s Tavern facebook page.

Do you think Shaw’s Tavern reopening as a coffee house would be a good idea?

Peregrine Expands Bicycle Coffee Delivery Program

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

“Peregrine Espresso is pleased to announce the expansion of our one-of-a-kind Pedaler by Peregrine coffee delivery program to include our new neighbors in Northwest D.C. Anyone who lives or works by one of our stores can have fresh roasted whole bean coffee delivered by bike right to their door.

Every Thursday our Pedaler by Peregrine bike heads out stocked with Counter Culture Coffee seasonal coffees and espressos to be delivered to our customers. The weekly coffee selection is accompanied by a detailed biography allowing customers to explore the story behind the coffee including information about the producer as well as in-depth tasting notes. The delivery service is now available to any home, office or business between Columbia Road and H Street NW, bordered on the east by 7th Street NW and on the west by Rock Creek Parkway. Delivery is also available in the Capitol Hill neighborhood between H Street NE and M Street SE, bordered on the east by the Anacostia River and the west by the Capitol building.”

For more detailed information on the Pedaler by Peregrine program or to sign up, please visit
www.pedalerbyperegrine.com or email [email protected].

New French Bakery, Caprice, Coming to Columbia Heights!

By Prince Of Petworth


Rendering for Caprice to be located at 3460 14th St, NW

Back in Aug. ’10 we first learned of plans for a :

“French coffee shop and bakery, with authentic French pastries and several varieties of bread– including real baguettes!– baked on site.”

It’s been a long year of anticipation but I am overjoyed to say that a lease has been signed and construction has begun on Caprice, a new French Bakery coming to the Allegro retail space at 3460 14th St, NW.

I sat down with the owners on Tuesday afternoon and have been smiling ever since. It is an insane coincidence that I’ve just returned from Paris so every time they explained a pastry or a baguette, I could actually taste what they were talking about.

So let me share some details first:

Construction is slated to be completed around the end of November.

There will be a small indoor sitting area for about 10-12 people and later in the Spring there will likely be a small outdoor patio area.

The Chef Baker lived in France for 20 years.

The bakery is locally owned by a family that lives 2 blocks away.

While there will be a variety of breads including real baguettes baked daily on site, the head Chef Baker also has a passion for pastries so expect to see Pain au Chocolate, Croissants, Macarrons, Petits Choux and more. In the future they will also offer soups and sandwiches. Think cheese and butter on a baguette. Ham on a baguette…

The hours will be 7am – 7pm though they could be extended if there is enough demand (see questions below.)

You can see from the photo about that there are actually two big spaces. They are both roughly 900 square feet with one being the public area and the other being the baking area.

So this leads me to a few questions that owners had for you guys: You can see that the baking area can be visible from the street so if you wanted you could actually watch the baking process – is that something you’d be interested in? Would you like to be able to watch the kitchen/baking area from the street.

Another question they had was about coffee – is there a particular brand you’d like to see served? Illy? Counter Culture? Something else?

Finally, how do you like the hours of 7am – 7pm? Are they good or would you prefer earlier? Later?

Stay tuned for more info/details as we get closer to the opening date.

The 5pm Post – Free Coffee and Buzz Bakery Cookies for customers this Thursday at Yola

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

“Just in time for back-to-school, Yola wants to provide customers with a FREE afternoon “snack” in hopes to educate consumers that they source local for their dairy, baked goods and coffee!

At “Milk and Cookies (and Coffee)”, on Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m., Yola will be serving complimentary cookies from Buzz Bakery, coffee from Counter Culture and milk samples from Trickling Springs.”

Yola is located at 1323 Connecticut Ave, NW.

The 5pm Post – Chinatown Coffee Co vs. Big Bear Cafe latte art throwdown!

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user KingoftheHill.

From an email:

“Chinatown Coffee has challenged coffeehouse rival Big Bear Café to a latte art throwdown this Tuesday, September 13th at 7pm. The battle will take place at Chinatown Coffee, (475 H Street NW between 5th and 6th street) and the shop will offer $1 off all craft beers as well. We would love to have you attend the competition and enjoy a night of fantastic coffee, beer and company.”

Filter Coffeehouse to Open Second Location in Foggy Bottom Near World Bank

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I heard Filter Coffeehouse was expanding to Foggy Bottom by the World Bank. It would be a great addition to that area that is currently somewhat of a coffee desert.”

Back in March ’10 Filter Coffeehouse opened up in Dupont Circle at 1726 20th St, NW. Since that time Filter always comes up when we talk about good coffee options around town. So the folks in Foggy Bottom should be pretty psyched. I spoke with some of the folks at Filter Mon. afternoon and they confirmed a 2nd location would be opening after a significant build-out somewhere around 19th and I St, NW. It should take around 4-6 months to open. Stay tuned.


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Judging Dupont Coffee Shop (reader request)

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo via Dupont Coffee Shop.

“Dear PoPville,

I’m curious to know if any PoP readers have tried Dupont Coffee Shop (apparently, a 30+ year institution). Their menu looks cheap and varied, but I haven’t heard any chatter about it…considering all of the other breakfast and lunch options in the neighborhood, it looks like they might have the best prices around. There are a few Yelp reviews, but not much else. They’ve been around for long enough; can we end the radio silence and get some people talking about this family-run business? Maybe a judging is in order?”

Dupont Coffee Shop is located at 1234 19th St, NW. You can see their menu here. Any fans?

Looks Like Florida Coffee House Closed at 220 Florida Ave, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to a reader for sending the heads up. I stopped by Sat. afternoon and indeed they were closed. Anyone know if it is a permanent closing. I always thought this was gonna be a tough location to survive because it didn’t have great visibility in the basement of a mostly residential block. I’ll be sure to update if they or someone else opens in the space.

Florida Coffee House (220 Florida Ave, NW) opened in Jan. 11 and we judged them in April ’11.

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