This building is located on Wisconsin Ave between Macomb and Newark. I’ve always liked the painting on the old C.C. Murphy Building. Many have heard that a new Giant will be anchoring this spot. Here’s a rendering of what it could look like in the future:
There’s lots of info at the Wisconsin Avenue Giant Web site.
CM Bowser’s office got my hopes up and crushed them like a balloon.
“Dear PoP,
My husband noticed that there was a crew doing work inside the Ellwood Thompsons space at DCUSA this morning. Do you have any inside info? Is the project back on for them?”
I’ve been getting lots of emails about this. Consider the following strictly scuttlebutt. So, the official line is that nothing has changed. The unofficial line is that there is definitely progress. I’m sorry I can’t give details and this certainly isn’t a done deal but know that negotiations are definitely moving forward. I’ll be sure to update with an official word as soon as that becomes possible.
And how the heck did I not hear about this new bar on H Street, NE until now!?!? 1104 H Street, NE is home to H Street’s newest bar. There is no sign out front but you can’t miss it. It is very close to Taylor’s Deli. I’m told it has a sweet patio and is owned by the same folks behind the nearby Jimmy Valentine’s. It is called Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar. Anyone check it out yet?
On August 2nd, Mid City Caffe, located above Miss Pixie’s at 1626 14th Street, NW, had their soft opening. Today we learned that the official opening will be this Saturday, August 15th. The press release says:
“To complement the fine selection of coffee, delicious handmade pastries will complete this shop
I received the following email Sunday evening:
“I was informed by the Yes staff in Brookland that the Yes store in Petworth opens tomorrow Monday!!!! Yeahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Sadly, the celebration may be a bit premature. I took some photos on Sat. and it looks like they’re close to opening but not just yet. A job fair is always a good sign though!
Back in April ’08 we addressed this issue when a reader wondered what was Georgia Ave. Safeway nickname. But since I get this question fairly frequently I thought we could use this post to put together the definitive list.
“Dear PoP,
I was wondering if you could do me a big favor. My friends and I are trying to compile a list of Safeway nicknames. So far, our list is:
* Secret Safeway (20th and S or 42nd and Ellicott sts NW)
* Senior Safeway 2550 Virginia Ave NW (Watergate)
* Sexy Safeway 5th and L St NW
* Social Safeway 1855 Wisconsin Ave NW (Georgetown)
* Socialist Safeway 1747 Columbia Rd NW (Adams Morgan- there’s debate about the Columbia Road one- aka Spanish/Salvadorean/Sandinista Safeway- do you have an opinion?)
* Southwest Safeway 401 M St SW
* Soviet Safeway 1701 Corcoran St NW
* Subterranean Safeway (Rosslyn)
* Superfly Safeway -? We’ve heard the name, but don’t know where this one would be
* Townhouse Safeway 1800 20th St NW
* Un-Safeway 415 14th St SE”
Does the list above look right? Are there others that have been left off?
“Dear PoP,
Do you have any information about what’s moving in on Columbia Road right next to the Safeway? All the surrounding stores went out of business at roughly the same time so I’m thinking maybe they’re putting some new megastore in there.”
I have received a number of emails asking about this. Back in April we learned that CVS will be taking over this spot. They will be closing their store across the street when this new spot opens. At the time Kristen Barden from Adams Morgan BID wrote me that:
“Combined Properties (www.combined.biz) is combining all of their stores along that stretch – Popeye’s, the beauty supply store, Citibank, etc… and the CVS on the south side of Columbia Road will move over there. I also don’t know what will go in the old CVS space yet…”
And of course construction has also begun on the Safeway which will stay open during renovations.
When I got the email saying:
“This weekend I will hit the streets dressed as a tree…”
I wasn’t sure if this was the ramblings of an insane person or a legit cause. Turns out it is a super cool legit cause. Pictured above is Bert Fitzgerald, 27, in Adams Morgan.
He worked on the Holly Tree Farm around Charlottesville VA last summer, and is now organizing this project delivering CSA shares from local Virginia family farms to DC, and partnering with farms that do pastured eggs, grass fed meats, raw milk cow shares, artisan breads and cheeses,local trout, and more.
He says:
“With a CSA (community supported agriculture) the idea is that you put money up front to support the costs of the farm’s growing season, and you get a share of its produce (dozens of different things throughout a season) every week. What we do different is that we deliver to your door, at the time you want it, on Thursday (as opposed to doing drop off points). And we allow people to add a very diverse group of local foods to their orders. If people want to join us we have lots of shares to offer, and they start up this Thursday (going through oct 1), so now’s the time to sign up!”
More detailed info after the jump. (more…)
This is gonna be great!
“Dear PoP,
Shortly after the announcement that Ellwood Thompson would not be moving to DCUSA, the one sign advertising the opening was removed from the window. When I was walking home on Monday, I noticed that there were two new signs in the window (one was lying on its side, one was posted in the window, in a different location than it originally was.) It looked as if there had been people working throughout the day – lights were on, ladders were out.
This morning, on my way to work, I saw that the door to the building was open, and a construction worker was standing outside. I asked him if he was working inside the building and he confirmed that he was. I asked him if he was working on the grocery store, and if it was scheduled to move in and he said “As far as we know, it is.”
A few people have written me asking the same question. Sadly, no it is not back on at the moment. I emailed Garland McQueen, Ellwood Thompson’s general manager, and he says:
“ET still would very much like to be in the Columbia Hts community. Due to the economy we have been delayed our expansion there. There is no construction by ET occurring in the space. We continue to work w/ the developer of DCUSA and others to overcome the obstacles associated w/ this recession.”