Thanks to a reader for sending some updated shots of the interior of The Coupe (from the owner of Tryst/Diner/Open City) coming to 11th and Monroe St, NW. I think they should be open to the public late next week. Stay tuned for an exact opening date.
And if anyone’s looking – they’re hiring:
Dear PoPville,
I was walking back to my house in Columbia Heights on Sherman Avenue last weekend at around 2 AM and was mugged. I was alone, but because I was sober and only going a few blocks I assumed I would be fine (a mistake of becoming too comfortable in the neighborhood after a couple of years). I was caught completely off guard because my attackers were two females who appeared to be in their early 20s (I’m a female as well). They initially approached me to ask for a cigarette. After walking another block I heard someone behind me and saw the two females again. I asked if they needed help with something else; my initial thought was they must have seen something that made them uncomfortable and walked back towards me to ask for help. At this point they knocked me to the ground and pepper sprayed me before taking my purse.
A cab appeared then and I was able to deal with the situation fairly quickly. Props to the cops as well for being very responsive and helpful. I doubt this will be the last time these women attempt to attack and rob someone. The cops told me women mugging other women is not unusual, but this has not happened to any of my friends in the area before, and I truly was not expecting it.
From an email:
Maple is launching Sunday brunch this weekend. Hours are 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
The menu is heavy on eggs — our version of an eggs florentine; an Eggs in Purgatory with Italian sausage, tomatoes, onions, peppers and fontina cheese; salted cod and potato cakes topped with sunny-side up eggs. We’ll also have a breakfast antipasti plate, french toast stuffed with apples and dried cherries and served with mascarpone whipped cream, and several of our panini and salads as more lunch items.
We’ll also extend our $2 off Italian beer Sunday special all day — so if anyone likes Italian craft beer with brunch, they can take advantage of that special price.
Maple will continue to be open after brunch but serve antipasti and olives only between 3 and 5, at which point we’re open for dinner.
Photo of ‘Purgatory’ courtesy of Maple
Photo courtesy of @tikidaisy
Thanks to Alison for capturing the action yesterday afternoon. The Designer Shoe Warehouse is slated to open in early October in DC USA on the Irving Street side.
Thanks to Philip Di Ruggiero for sending. Check out what 732 Lamont St, NW used to look like:
Alley behind 14th, Irving, Columbia and Hiatt Pl, NW
I was checking out the new Highland Park II building in Columbia Heights and heard about a very interesting development being discussed. Apparently the alley (pictured above) used to be a mess and filled with garbage. It’s been cleaned and fenced and is owned by the city. So what to do with the space? One option I heard mentioned was a dog park. Do you think this would be a good space for a new dog park in Columbia Heights (in addition to the one at 11th and Park Rd, NW)?
11th and Lamont St, NW
EaterDC reports:
“Just as Columbia Heights gem Room 11 gears up for its expansion, partner Ben Gilligan is stepping down as the restaurant’s head chef.”
From Craigslist:
Room 11, a small, independent, RAMMY award nominated restaurant in Columbia Heights is looking for a new Head Chef. The restaurant currently specializes in small plates American cuisine, in addition to wine and cocktails. The new chef should be interested in changing the menu to suit his/her talents, but also incorporate the current style. Candidates should have experience managing a kitchen with several line cooks and dishwashers, ordering from vendors, creating menus, preparing back of house schedules, taking inventory and controlling food costs.
A reader sends a note they sent to MPD:
Today, while walking on 11th street between Harvard and Columbia Road with my 12 week old daughter, a man crept out from behind a tree and began masturbating while looking at us. Keep in mind this is a block from the Harriet Tubman playground. I quickly walked away (and did not confront him due to the fact that I was strolling my infant) and about 15 seconds later, while still having him in sight, I called 911. The dispatcher was great and asked all the right questions (what happened, description, etc.). As I was talking to her the man began walking, and then running, south on 11th and then headed east on Harvard. He was wearing a light business shirt (I think light blue or white…and I think it was collared). And he was wearing a bright red backpack. I left my name and number with the dispatcher. After hanging around for 5-10 more minutes it seemed as though there was no police response, which is more than a little disturbing.
This same thing happened to me when first moving to the Columbia Heights neighborhood in 2008 (I actually think it may be the same clean-cut looking young man). Again, police did not respond to the scene. Moreover, in 2006 when I was a law firm summer associate living on Capitol Hill, a man pulled up in a truck to ask for directions. After asking for several direction clarifications I noticed he was masturbating. I promptly called the police because I had his license plate number! A few hours later the police responded to my home and didn’t even take notes, but instead said obnoxious things such as “I suppose you are going to tell me he is black” and “Why did it take you so long to notice what he was doing.” Again, at that time I had the license plate number, the police told me that the truck matched a description from other similar complaints in the neighborhood, and I was never contacted again. Nor was I given the opportunity to file a police report.
Overall, I am absolutely appalled by the flippant attitude the DC police seem to have toward men that expose themselves and/or masturbate publicly. It is threatening behavior and no more innocuous than actually grabbing a victim. Moreover, that kind of behavior often leads to physical assaults. For example, just this week in NYC’s Central Park, a man who had previously been seen masturbating in the area brutally raped and beat a woman that viewed him. See here. I worry it is going to take a situation like that to get the Department to take such threats seriously.
Please let me know what the DC police are doing about following up on such threatening behaviors. My experience sounds very similar to those in the Prince of Petworth postings. See
here and here.
3313 11th St, NW (pre-signage)
From El Chucho‘s Facebook page:
“BRUNCH DEBUTS THIS WEEKEND! Saturday and Sunday 11:30-2:30. Features a breakfast burrito; green eggs & ham; chilaquiles; huevos rancheros; torta french toast. OJ squeezed to order from our badass juicer…All $4: mimosas, bloodies, micheladas and house margs (frozen, too). Join the party!”
A few weeks ago we got a pre-preview of the new Tryst/Diner concept coming to 11th and Monroe St, NW in Columbia Heights. Now we finally have a name – The Coupe! And they’ll be “soft opening over the next few weeks”.
From a press release:
The creators of Tryst, The Diner and Open City are scheduled to open their latest spot in Columbia Heights over the next few weeks. The Coupe, a hybrid of their first three concepts, will be a community gathering place located at 3415 11th Street on the corner of 11th and Monroe.
The owner, Constantine Stavropoulos has had a strong bond to this neighborhood since he first toured an old abandoned grocery store on 11th Street six years ago. With the recent mix of independent business development, the 11th Street neighborhood was an ideal place to open their fifth location (in May of this year, they opened ‘Tryst at the Phillips’, making The Coupe number five).
Much like what their other concepts did for their respective neighborhoods, The Coupe, located in a 7,000 square foot space, hopes to become that “third place” for the residents of Columbia Heights. Open 24 hours, this coffeehouse, diner, lounge and bar will offer signature Tryst coffees using a variety of brewing methods, homemade pastries and desserts, a restaurant menu that offers a range of comfort food items throughout the day and night with an added mix of entrees and specials at certain times (eggs, waffles and other diner staples will be served all the time), and a bar program with an emphasis on craft cocktails, an eclectic mix of beers, and a lot of wines by the glass, bottle and on tap.
Follow The Coupe’s progress on FB and Twitter at @thecoupedc
11th and Monroe St, NW
