Columbia Heights

PoP Profile: John Andrade Pictured with Girlfriend Sarah Voorheis

By Prince Of Petworth

John Andrade, 39 is co-owner with his brother Jim of Asylum on 18th Street in Adams Morgan. However, John is being profiled here because he is also the new owner of Meridian Pint. You know, the restaurant that will go into the old Bi-Rite building on the corner of 11th and Park. I sat down with John and his girlfriend Sarah at Red Rocks last week. Let me say from the start the folks I have met who are opening/have opened new bars and restaurants in the neighborhood are the absolute coolest. The owners of Red Rocks, Maroni & Bros., Looking Glass Lounge and Red Derby are among the nicest people I have ever met and what they all have in common is their love of the neighborhoods in which they operate. And John Andrade is absolutely no exception.

John and Sarah are the type of people you would love to meet at a party or have dinner with. They are completely chill, tell good stories and have phenomenal senses of humor. I was fortunate to chat with them for a couple of hours. Profile continues after the jump. (more…)

Washington Business Journal Says “DC USA makes last-ditch pitch to high-end retailers”

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to Marco for sending me this article a few days ago. I was a bit slow on the trigger and DCist posted about it earlier today. The article says “When the 540,000-square-foot DC USA retail complex opens March 8 in Columbia Heights, it will still have nearly 80,000 square feet of retail to fill — including 25,000 square feet that developers want to reserve for higher-end retailers. Banana Republic and Coach have been mentioned as examples, although no deals are in the works.”

Interesting. What do you guys think about this? Would you like to see some high end retail go into DC USA in Columbia Heights?

Wilco Ticket Contest Final Entry

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: Winner announced Friday!

“My favorite part of living in DC is that DC is a pedestrian city. I absolutely love living in a city where I walk to my grocery store, walk to the gym, watch as my neighborhood (columbia heights) transforms everyday, brick by brick, see all my neighbors out and about. Often I’ll walk around with no destination, just to check out new neighborhoods, see new sights. I’ll walk home from work or other
long distances, taking new routes each time to discover even more to love about the city I live in. (Anyone else see the marching band that practices late at night near Mt. Vernon Square?) These happenings keep me feeling alive and inspired.

I cannot imagine these travels without my ipod. Wilco is a go-to choice for calm beautiful nights. I wanted to put up a picture that correlates to these walks, the music, the mood, the invigorating feeling that comes from it all. U St is part of my daily routine, one of my favorite walks.”

Comment From the Owner of Restaurant Going into the Bi-Rite at 11th and Park in Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

“My name is John Andrade, owner of Asylum in Adams Morgan and owner of what will be The Meridian Pint at 11th & Park. So much has been said about 3DG’s building design so I won’t get into that but I would like to touch on my ideas for my space. To clarify, it is not going to be a Belgian restaurant, it is going to be an American style restaurant and lounge with international flavors. The beer will be draft only to minimize environmental impact as well as noise impact from the dumping of bottles. With 20 beers on draft I intend to have a large selection with strong Belgian influences. Wine will also be in abundance and both beer and wine will come with pairing suggestions for an excellent dinner experience.

Since I am still in the planning stages I welcome any comments or suggestions that anyone may have. If there is something in particular you’d like to see me incorporate into the design or menu I’d be happy to consider it.”

John Andrade
[email protected]

REI Coming to DCUSA in Columbia Heights?

By Prince Of Petworth

Holy canoli! I think this would be phenomenal. Of course I love hiking but still an REI would be fantastic, no? A reader writes:

“I recently came across news on the Columbia Heights News website that REI is considering a location at the new DCUSA in Columbia Heights. This would be a great addition as the outdoor coop is a solid company known for, besides quality outdoor gear, being an all around good and ethical company – the kind of retail neighbor that would be awesome for the neighborhood.

It would be helpful for those interested to be in touch with all the usual suspects when dealing with DCUA (Jim Graham and GridProperties – [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]), but particularly with REI.

In response to my email to Grip Properties in support of the REI, I was told the following:

Thanks for your e-mail. It would be most helpful if you and your friends and colleagues would contact REI directly. They are new to urban markets and need to hear directly from their potential customers.

After a few email exchanges with REI, I was informed that the best way to get in touch with them was through this link: http://www.rei.com/shared/help/feedback/servicefb.html – Surprisingly, they said they will forward any emails regarding the project to administrative offices associated with such things.

I think this would be a huge development for the community. The Columbia Heights News website mentioned they were in direct competition with Ross Dress For Less (you know, the store very similar to the Marshals already moving into DCUSA) – so either way its probably a good thing if community members made their preferences known.”

Allegro Condos Going Rental

By Prince Of Petworth

Yikes, I’m a little late on this one. But thanks to Marco for alerting me to the news. DC Mud reported last Wed. “Metro Properties Inc. has just announced that the Allegro Condominiums, their 297 unit project at 3460 14th street in Columbia Heights, has joined the tide of condo conversions and is now destined to become an apartment building.”

So it begs the question: Do you think the condos being built over the Petworth metro will remain condos or go rental too? I think even if there is a conversion to rental it will be good for the neighborhood as there will still be lots of folks moving in to patronize the existing and soon to be establishments. How do you guys interpret the news for Columbia Heights, Petworth and the general trend?

And of course Happy President’s Day!

Welcome To Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

I love the fact that the signs are in both Spanish and English. But I’m not so sure about what the people are doing. Are they playing volleyball? Do people play a lot of volleyball in Columbia Heights? Do you guys like these welcome signs?

We also got pretty cool welcome signs in Petworth almost exactly a year ago.

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