Bars

Redline (Partially) Opens Up in Old Indebleu Space in Chinatown at 707 G Street, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

According to the Downtown DC BID:

“Get ready for Redline, a dual-concept sports pub and upscale-casual restaurant. The sports pub, scheduled to open this month, will occupy the first level and feature table-side taps and a big projection screen. Once it opens in mid-December, the second floor restaurant will serve American food with a French flair and offer outdoor seating and patio space. Mick Dadlani, who owns Fly Lounge in Dupont Circle, is giving the space a modern design with exposed brick and natural light.”

9th St, NW News – Lounge Closes and Art Gallery Opens

By Prince Of Petworth

I’m embarrassed to say I forget the name of the lounge (it used to be called Nafka Restaurant ) located at 2010 9th St, NW near the 9:30 club but it has closed.

Further south on 9th St, it looks like a new gallery has opened up. Perhaps it’s just new to me but I never noticed it before the banner pictured below went up at 1306 9th St. NW. According their Web site, Zeki Gallery and Studio is run by:

“Zeki Findikoglu was born in 1946 in Iznik, Turkey. He lived in virtually every region of the Anatolian Peninsula. The rich variety of cultural and artistic traditions in Turkey developed into a lifelong interest. Zeki moved to the United States in 1973.

A professional artist since 1970 and an art professor since 1977, Zeki has gained international acclaim. His highly stylized paintings and prints incorporate Turkish culture and artistic contentions, extending them with a modern artistic vocabulary to provide a bridge between ancient and contemporary art. Zeki’s works have been exhibited in the US and Turkey, as well as Europe and Asia.”

Anyone ever check out the studio?

PoP Preview – Tynan Coffee and Tea Opening in NoMa Tomorrow Nov. 17

By Prince Of Petworth

Tynan Coffee and Tea will be opening up at 1275 First Street, NE in NoMa tomorrow and having a grand opening Dec. 1st. Many will recall that Tynan also has a Columbia Heights location at 1400 Irving St, NW. There new NoMa location is also it’s biggest. The space is 1800 sq ft and has room for 46 seats. In the warmer months there will also be outdoor seating. While having a similar feel and look to the Columbia Heights location, this location also has a small tv area and will host old photos instead of a mural.

I spoke to Pat Coyle who’s promoting the new cafe and he shares:

“We will offer a happy hour M-F 4:00pm to Close (8pm).

The Grand Opening will remain on Wednesday, December 1st. We will have our Tynan Giveaway contest, the opportunity to win Tynan gift certificates, from 6:00am-5:00pm and a complimentary shoe shine from 1pm- 4pm. We will have our Grand Opening Happy Hour from 4-8.”

More photos after the jump. (more…)

Bloomingdale’s Big Bear Cafe Gets Liquor License

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to all who sent word about this development. Washington City Paper’s Lydia DePillis broke the news Saturday announcing Big Bear (1st and R St, NW) had received its liquor license despite an ANC protest, though:

“Big Bear didn’t get everything it wanted: The Board, while dismissing most of the protestants’ concerns about trash, noise, and zoning, confined the Cafe’s hours to midnight on weekends and 11:00 p.m. on weekdays, with outdoor music to cease at 9:00 p.m.”

You can read the full ABRA announcement here.

DePillis also noted that the owner was surprised by the quick announcement and therefore “has no immediate plans to start serving alcohol”.

Great news! Do you think those hours are fair?

I wonder how long the lines are gonna get…

901, a new, high-end restaurant debutting next spring at 901 9th St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

I’ve always thought this was an interesting property that has been vacant for a while at the corner of 9th and I St, NW. Well the Downtown BID shares some very interesting details about the space:

“The majority owner of the Capitol City Brewing Company (1100 New York Avenue) has signed a 10-year lease to open 901, a new, high-end restaurant debutting next spring at 901 9th Street, space previously occupied by Pearl Restaurant and Lounge. Entrepreneur David von Storch, whose holdings also include Vida Fitness (601 F Street), plans to serve keg beers brewed by Capitol City in the new establishment. As for the menu, expect to see ahi tuna tartar, Wagyu beef meatballs and All-American bison sliders.”

And let me tag on to this info with a quick Friday Question of the Day – where is your favorite place to simply grab a beer? Not best sports bar, not best bar food, not best anything else except for best beer options and atmosphere?

Social (Abruptly and Possibly Temporarily) Closes at 14th and Meridian Pl, NW in Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

Many people have heard by now that Social, open since Aug. ’09, had closed yesterday. The question I have are why did they close and when will they reopen? I just got off the phone with one of the owners, AJ Guy, and while he couldn’t completely clear up the picture for me he was able to share a few more details.

Yesterday I was sent a number of emails (sorry for the delay I’ve been away from a computer) mostly seen on facebook saying that they closed due to “a dispute regarding taxes and the ownership group.” AJ said in no uncertain terms that they were not closed as a result of tax problems. They have closed because they “are doing a reassessment from top to bottom of our organization”. He continues, “We have every intention to re-open”.

I pressed him for a timeframe on when they may reopen but he was unable to give me one. If I were a betting man I’d say it will be closed closer to weeks rather than days and a possibility of months. To me it seems to depend whether the space will reopen with the same concept or completely new brand/concept. If they completely rebrand including new investors, this will obviously take more time. There are clearly a lot of decisions that need to be made by a lot of different people and all these variables are being discussed at this time. I have been promised to be kept in the loop on potential reopening dates, whether or not a new ownership team is put together, and whether or not a new concept emerges etc.

But the bottom line is that they have closed for the moment. And unfortunately it is not clear when they will reopen. I promise to update as more info becomes available. Personally, I was a big fan of the space and the people (including a great mix of patrons). I also like how their outdoor space developed (see photo above) and I think overall they were/are great members of the community. I hope they will soon return, as Social or another concept, to contribute to the progress being made on 14th St, NW north of Spring Road and to Columbia Heights in general.

Saki to Expand Into District Lounge & Grille in Adams Morgan

By Prince Of Petworth

This is an interesting development. Looks like District Lounge & Grille will be closing and Saki will be expanding into the space. From a Saki liquor license application/change:

“Expand the licensed premises to include the entire building at 2477 18th Street, N.W. This expansion will include the space at 2473 18th Street, N.W. which is currently occupied by District Lounge & Grille which will cease to operate after approval of the expansion. This expansion will add an additional 120 seats for dining space as well as create 25 seats for summer garden space.”

In Sept. ’10 we judged Saki. Were there any fans of District?

Update on New Sports Bar, The Blue Banana, Coming to 3632 Georgia Ave, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

After our brief reader update last week I wanted to talk to Project Manager Ted Trabue to get a bit more info. He was kind enough to meet me Tues. afternoon at the space at 3632 Georgia Ave, NW next to Looking Glass Lounge.

Let me start off by setting the record straight (no pun intended) on some reader speculation – despite the name it’s not going to be a gay sports bar in the mold of Nellie’s on U St, NW. (In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, not that there’s anything wrong with that!) It is going to be a sports bar for everyone – gay, straight, black, white, men, women, football fans, soccer fans and even cricket fans if folks are interested. In other words – this is going to be a sports bar that will cater to the entire community/neighborhood.

Now a bit more about the bar. As you can tell from the photos, the construction has progressed nicely and they should be finished in the next week or so. The construction team is the same folks behind Clyde’s and Old Ebbit Grill downtown so they are very experienced. If and of course that is a big if – all the permits are acquired in a timely manner, the bar should open the first week of December. There is no kitchen in the facility but fresh food will be catered on a daily basis.

There will be 12 draft beers, consisting of a mix of domestic and imported, on tap. There will be 9 TVs with the possible addition of a 10th. The bar will seat between 12-15 and the total capacity inside will be around 80. There will be a small outdoor area out back that will hold 4 tables. As mentioned above they will show all sports and will try as best as possible to cater to the requests of the patrons.

So for now, let’s all hope that they get their permits in a timely manner! I’ll update when the menu, beer list and an exact date for opening is released.


Project Manager Ted Trabue

More photos of the interior after the jump. (more…)

Bavarian Beer Garden Coming to 720 L St, SE

By Prince Of Petworth

Wow, H St, NE’s Biergarten Haus may soon be getting some competition. I was super psyched to see that a new place is looking to come to 720 L St, SE just south of Barracks row past the Southeast freeway:


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It is just empty parking lot at the moment but there is a good bit of space so you can definitely see the potential. The liquor license application says:

“New tavern, beer garden with European/American Food. Number of seats 99, summer garden 200 seats, total occupancy load is 399.”

While it’s not super close to a metro it is near a bike share station which is good enough for me. Obviously I’ll be following these developments closely and will post as more info becomes available. What do you guys think – can DC support two proper beer gardens?

8th Street Bar & Grill coming to Barracks Row

By Prince Of Petworth

More excitement for new bars/restaurants coming to Barracks Row and Capitol Hill. The current Capitol Hill Sports Goods and Apparel located at 727 8th St, SE will become 8th Street Bar & Grill according to an alcohol application permit. It sounds promising:

“New Tavern with American cuisine, dancing and five piece bands playing Jazz, Blues, Rock & Roll. Seating capacity is 66. Total occupancy load is 66. Sidewalk Café with seating for 6.”


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