coffee

An Update On Columbia Heights Retail/Restaurants/Etc. – Good News and Bad News Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, I’ve finally tracked down the answers to a number of questions folks have been asking for a while. So here goes. In the space pictured above there’s going to be a local coffee shop yet to be named. It is going to be owned by a pair of brothers named Jim and Brian Sullivan. They intend to make it a very comfortable coffee house with the motif featuring Columbia Heights history. The goal is to open up in May. Let’s file this under good news.

The sushi restaurant, Sake Club is still a go but I didn’t get a targeted opening date. (Irving St.)

The Caribbean place, zinnia, is a no go. A replacement has not yet been named. (Irving St.)

The forever “coming soon”, Royal Blue, is no longer coming soon or coming at all. A replacement has yet to be named. (14th Street)

I don’t know how I missed this but apparently a Peruvian steak and chicken place is coming (Park Road).

Sadly, after a very short run Coco Libre has closed at Sherman and Harvard Streets. They write on their Web site:

“We would like to inform all of our customers and supporters that, unfortunately, we had to make the hard choice to close our shop at 786 Harvard Street. This is due to forces beyond our control. We anticipate moving to another location, so please check back to get an update on where to find us and our products. Thank you to the community and take care.” (Thanks to a reader for sending.)

So we got some good news and bad news. What are you happiest/saddest about? I’ll be sure to update when replacements are named.

Dang! Columbia Heights Coffee Not Expanding

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, sometimes if it’s too good to be true… This is actually quite sad. The owners of Columbia Heights Coffee, located on 11th Street between Park and Monroe, informed me this weekend that they will not be expanding after all. I feel really bad for them because they told me they had paid two years rent for nothing. It seems that the permitting process was just way too cumbersome. Oh well, at least the original spot will remain. For those curious the for rent sign says $1K per month.

Judging Cafes – First Cup Cafe

By Prince Of Petworth

First Cup Cafe is located at 900 M Street, NW. It actually first caught me eye because I saw a number of books stacked in the windows, which I always think is a sign of a good cafe. They even have their own Web site:

“At First Cup Cafe, we serve freshly prepared sandwiches and an assorted flavors of Coffees from around the world including Brazilian, Columbian and Ethiopian. Try our dark roasted coffee or the refreshing light roasted coffee.

In addition to our coffees, we also serve freshly prepared smoothies in a variety of flavors such as Raspberry, Strawberry, Banana, Pina Colada, Peach, Mango and our house specialty – Green tea smoothies.”

Sounds pretty sweet. Any fans out there. Is this a good place for breakfast as well? A good place to study? What’s the word?

Starbucks To Close 200 More Stores In the US

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Shay Thomason

A reader sent the news from the Huffington Post:

“The gourmet coffee chain plans to close 300 underperforming stores around the world _ including 200 in the U.S. _ by the end of the fiscal year in addition to the 600 U.S. stores it began closing this summer.”

The reader suggested that I do a “post on which DC Starbucks we could do without, or which ones are most likely to get the ax”. I think that’s an interesting idea. My guess is that it shouldn’t hit DC proper too hard since DC’s economy has been holding up fairly well compared to the rest of the US. But to ponder the question I’ve always thought it was a bit odd that there is a Starbucks on 14th Street in Columbia Heights and another one right across the street in the Target. I wouldn’t be too sad if they closed the one in the Target and maybe, oh I don’t know, opened up a Taco Bell there instead…

What do you guys think – are there any spots that you think may get hit with a closure? Do you know of any spots that probably should be closed?

Tina Extols The Joys Of Jolt N Bolt

By Prince Of Petworth

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. A couple of months ago I joined the ranks of the unemployed. I won’t lie, some days are a little touch and go, but on the whole I am happy with my new status and am relishing in my newfound abundance of time to focus my energy on volunteering, finishing my graduate school applications (wish me luck!), taking up new hobbies like cooking and painting (not at the same time though), catching up on my reading, finishing the scarf that’s been sitting in the knitting bag since last winter, and finally getting to visit the museums during the quiet hours. For a person without a job I’ve managed to keep myself pretty busy. However, I do still have a good amount of downtime, and if it were warm I would spend much of it outdoors. But in these freezing temperatures, bike rides, leisurely strolls, and sunbathing in the park don’t sound like such great ideas. So, I’ve taken to toting my laptop or a good book over to one of the many neighborhood coffee shops.

Most of the time, because it’s so close to home, I end up at Tryst. I like it alright, the couches are comfy (though their cleanliness is dubious), no one bothers me if I order a cup of coffee and sit for two hours, and they have a good selection of treats for when I get a little hungry. But, it’s always so crowded, the service is slow, and more often than not I feel like the guy next to me is more interested in a pick up than his laptop. But anyway, this post is not about Tryst, it’s about another spot just down the road, Jolt N Bolt. I used to find myself wandering down here when Tryst was too crowded but lately, despite the freezing temperatures, I have been bypassing Tryst all together and setting up shop in the little converted row house at 1918 18th Street (just south of U Street.) Continues after the jump. (more…)

And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Neighborhood News Coverage – New Petworth Coffee House Official!

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in November I mentioned that Petworth was getting a new coffee shop but was waiting on its final permits. Well, I’m happy to announce that  Fresh off the Roast Coffee will be opening up its shop at 3917 Georgia Avenue!  I haven’t been this excited since Obama’s inauguration…

Ed. Note: Full disclosure Fresh off the Roast is a PoP advertiser.

Capturing Sweet City Signs – Sidamo

By Prince Of Petworth

I love this one. It is from a coffee shop on H Street, NE. This scene inside looked super cool as well. Anyone been there? If so how’s the coffee?

Old School Coffee Cans

By Prince Of Petworth

Next time you go to Columbia Heights Coffee on 11th between Monroe and Park be sure to take a second and actually check out the old coffee cans above the sugar. Some of them are really quite cool.

Looks Like There Might Be Some Movement At 14U

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in June we learned that the old coffee spot at the corner of 14th and U would become a boutique (selling handbags and such) and cafe. I’m not sure if that’s still the plan but I did notice some construction permits in the front window so hopefully they’ll be opening up in some capacity pretty soon. And by some capacity I really mean as a cafe of sorts…

You think this spot is too small to support just a cafe given the high rents of the area?

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