Mount Pleasant

It’s True, Burritos Fast for Sale in Mount Pleasant

By Prince Of Petworth

A commenter noted the for sale sign in the window and I went to check it out this weekend. Sadly it is true. Burritos Fast which Tina checked out a while back, located at 3213 Mount Pleasant St NW, is for sale. Unfortunately the woman at the store who I spoke with couldn’t speak English and I can’t speak Spanish. I don’t know if this happens to you but my foreign language is French so when someone can’t speak English I automatically revert to French. Though I spoke it with a Spanish accent. Anyway, when I asked why the store was closing, the best answer I could get was “dinero”. This is pretty sad news. I know there were a lot of fans out there so you should stop by soon before they are sold.

An Update on the Building Gutted by Fire at 3145 Mt. Pleasant Street

By Prince Of Petworth

Council Member Jim Graham sent an update via email last week:

“Dear Friends, below is the latest status report from the Tenants Organization at 3145 Mt Pleasant, the apt building that was the source of the 5 alarm fire a little more than a year ago. We have been meeting regularly in my office. This is a troubling and difficult situation. But this report helps understand what is happening.”

Jim — I appreciate your note below, and the strong, unequivocal support that you have given to the residents of the Deauville during the past many years. Arnold & Porter LLP is counsel to the tenants

Garden of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

Again, not exactly a proper garden but I love the way this looked cascading over the retaining wall. This whole row of retaining walls on Adams Mill Road looks pretty sweet.

Dear PoP – Support Your Local Hardware Stores

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP

You’ve posted on local hardware stores in general and Pfeiffer’s Hardware in Mt Pleasant in particular. So I thought you might be interested in this below (from the Mt Pleasant Forum).

I shop there all the time – a world apart from the hell that is Home Depot. I hope others will show their support and spend their money at Pfeiffers (and other local businesses).

Dear Mt. Pleasant Friends and Neighbors,

Times are tight for all of us, and I wanted to let you know how Pfeiffer’s is coping.

First, we are doing everything we can to give you good reason to buy from us. We have been doing that since we opened, but we have redoubled our efforts of late. Our new manager, William Hester, has been a phenomenal help and has so much more experience managing people and stuff than I ever had. Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself at your leisure.

Our new assistant manager, Kyla Dickson, who was promoted from clerk, has also been tremendously helpful with her instinctive ability to get things done and to manage inventory. And then there are the usual suspects: John, Josh, Richard, Roberto, Rodney and Wing. All are there to help you find what you need, or to give you their opinion on the health care debate. Our previous manager Megan Crowley, left at the end of June to pursue her dream of opening her antique tavern in West Virginia.

I am also writing to ask for your continued support. The economy is hurting most of us, I’m sure, but the fact is, without an increase in sales, our store may become yet another empty storefront on Mt. Pleasant Street. No one wants that. So, if you need a widget or a doohickey, please remember us and the value of convenience and connection and helpfulness and friendliness that we bring to your shopping at our store.

Many other businesses on Mt. Pleasant Street are struggling. If you don’t want to see them close their doors, please remember to shop locally when you can.

Thank you for your support in the past and whatever support you can afford in the future.

I will be at the store this Sunday through Wednesday and will be available for conversation at Marx Cafe in the evenings from at least 4-6pm Sunday through Tuesday. If any of you would like to chat about the store, our current situation, suggestions, possible contractors to woo, or just to chat about all things Mount Pleasant or the Pfeiffer clan, please stop by. If you would rather meet one on one, please email me at [email address removed – log in to view].

In my next posting, I will give you an update on the possible sale of the store, some new policies, our new items, and the restructuring of our rental department.

Hugs and Hardware,

Old Man Pfeiffer”

Tina visited this great hardware store back in June of 2008. And last March I wondered if local hardware stores are doomed? It saddens me to hear about Pfeiffer’s tough times. They truly are a gem in Mt. Pleasant.

Tree Box Memorial Marker in Mt. Pleasant

By Prince Of Petworth

A friend of mine had been telling me about a “grave marker” in Mt. Pleasant for a couple of weeks but I was finally able to check it out on Sunday. It is located on the 1700 block of Kilbourne Street, NW. I was able to speak to some neighbors who said that it was just a memorial. It is very small and very easy to walk by without noticing it. I think it is a touching tribute, though definitely the first memorial like this I’ve ever seen on a residential street.

Best Spot for a Morning Cup of Coffee? (Reader Nominated)

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to nominate my neighbor in Mount Pleasant, whose garage deck I admire from my window every day. They have a detached garage on top of which they have built an amazing deck/cabana/outdoor space that really must be seen!

To check out the most spectacular and ingenuous spot they have created, you have to come through the alley behind the house, which is accessible by 19th St between Lamont St. and Kenyon.”

I hope this is the one. I was wandering up and down the alley and this was the coolest detached garage set up I saw. Definitely a sweet morning coffee spot.

Judging Restaurants – Ercilia’s

By Prince Of Petworth

Ercilia’s is located at 3070 Mount Pleasant St, NW. Those on Yelp are big fans of the pupusas. What do you guys think – thumbs up or down? Is it better as a carry out or eat in? Any other notable dishes besides the pupusas?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc

By Prince Of Petworth

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland.  Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below.  Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system.  Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 1816 Irving St NW

Original List Price: $499,999.

List Price at Contract: $365,000.

List Date: 10/22/2008

Days on Market: 155

Settled Sales Price: $310,000.

Settlement Date:  07/06/2009

Seller Subsidy:  $9,300.

Bank Owned?: No. 

Type Of Financing: Cash

Listing History: No sales history info on MRIS, so was possibly an estate.  Tax records show a transfer with no price in April 2009, which also suggests that it was part of an estate.

Original GDoN Post is: Here.

Recent Listing is: Here.  To see pics, click the arrows on the main picture.

Despite the “needs some work” condition of this property, commenters on the original Good Deal or Not (GDoN) post for this property thought it was an okay deal for the neighborhood when it was listed at $499,999. One person noted that, “this is the kind of listing that has me worried about home values. when was the last time a house in any condition sold for less than 500k in mount pleasant? I certainly haven’t seen anything this low in mount pleasant since I have been paying attention to listings.”

Given the comments and the number of my own buyer clients who inquired about the house, it surprises me that it stayed on the market for as long as it did. As some of the GDoN posters mentioned, it is small and needed a lot of work. Even being small and in crappy condition, at a net a tad over $300,000., I’d say the buyer got a pretty good deal. Just to reassure everybody that the values in Mount Pleasant are not totally taking a nose dive, here are the two and three bedroom sold comps since the beginning of 2009. You’ll see that the next lowest sold price to this sale is greater by more than $150,000.

Coming and What’s Coming? Cricket and Mount Pleasant Deli

By Prince Of Petworth

It looks like the phone company Cricket is coming full force to DC. Above is a new spot they’ll be coming to at the corner of Georgia Ave. and Gresham. And as we noted a few weeks ago, they’ll also be coming to the corner of 14th and U and 1652 Columbia Road.

“Dear PoP,

It looks like there is some action (paint, lighting) going on inside the empty store front to the left of Ercilia’s on Mt. P St. I can’t remember if that was the former deli spot or what…”

I took a look at the former Mt. Pleasant Deli spot but sadly there were no workmen there to inquire what was going. I’ll keep my eye on the spot though and update as soon as more info becomes available.

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