Photo by Capital Retail Group’s Robert Tack

1414 9th Street, NW is the infamous former home to Vegetate, Cafe Eagle, Taqueria Mexicana, Eagle (again), Northern Restaurant and Secret Lounge and Sports Bar and most recently Chao Ku who abruptly closed in February. Fingers crossed for the IMM group!

Ed. Note: IMM on H is on H Street of course and IMM on Georgia is coming to Brightwood. You can see their menus here.

On January 9th I posted that Chao Ku was for sale. I don’t know the details but they’ve now closed. So the curse remains despite some initial denials. On Friday City Paper reported:

“It made sense just to let it go. The road was too long,” says owner John Fielding. “We just never got the foot traffic to make it work, and we spent so much money on the buildout.”

1414 9th Street, NW is now the former home to Vegetate, Cafe Eagle, Taqueria Mexicana, Eagle (again), Northern Restaurant and Secret Lounge and Sports Bar and Chao Ku.

Thanks to all who emailed.

1414 9th Street, NW

Welp, if you doubted the curse of 1414 9th Street before…this is the former home to Vegetate, Cafe Eagle, Taqueria Mexicana, Eagle (again), Northern Restaurant and Secret Lounge and Sports Bar. And now it looks like we’ll soon add Chao Ku who only opened after extensive fundraising and renovations back in June. The restaurant is listed for sale for $350,000:

“Newly built out restaurant in hot Shaw market with cheap rent and outdoor seating opportunity.

Real Estate: Leased
Building Sq. Ft.: 2,542
Lease Expiration: 8/15/2026
Facilities: Brand new build out. All equipment in excellent condition
Competition: This built out restaurant is located in the heart of the District’s Shaw neighborhood.
Growth & Expansion: The restaurant can be easily converted to various concepts. There is a large outdoor patio opportunity.
Financing: Possibly
Reason for Selling: Focus on other ventures
Business Website: http://www.chaokudc.com/”

Stay tuned…

1414 9th Street, NW

From Chao Ku‘s Facebook:

“This Monday opening from noon – 3pm.
Tuesday through Saturday 11am – 3pm.
Closed Sunday.
Monday the 27th – Saturday July 2nd 11am – 10pm. Closed Sunday July 3rd.
After that:
Sunday- Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-10:30pm”

The Tower of Power = Wok Fried Spare Ribs, Pork Roast & Slow Cooked Belly, five spice, house pickles, & 4 condiments.

Check out their full menu here.

1414 9th Street, NW

Thanks to a reader for passing on the Craigslist ad:

“Chao Ku, a Kickstarter-backed, fast-casual Chinese restaurant opening soon in Shaw, is looking for energetic applicants with a strong background in customer service and food preparation to join the team.

We currently have the following Front of House and Kitchen positions available.”

And you can check out their menu here.

Getting closer to fast casual Chinese in Shaw! Thanks to all who emailed about Chao Ku’s new signage. This is the former home to Vegetate, Cafe Eagle, Taqueria Mexicana, Eagle (again), Northern Restaurant and Secret Lounge and Sports Bar.

Check out the new wood paneled front too:

1414 9th Street, NW

1414 9th Street, NW

Back in September we noted there was again action at the former home to Vegetate, Cafe Eagle, Taqueria Mexicana, Eagle (again), Northern Restaurant and Secret Lounge and Sports Bar. At that time a commenter told us some scuttlebutt:

“the space has been leased by John Fielding, whose industry pedigree is pretty great (Broad Branch Market, Tabard Inn, etc.). He’s going to be opening a fast casual restaurant on the 1st floor with upstairs bar. Upscale Chinese cuisine is the rumored theme.”

Ed. Note: Props to the tipster for being 99% correct. Send more tips to [email protected] :) thanks.

A liquor license placard has now been posted for Chao Ku saying:

“A casual fast-food restaurant serving Chinese food. Seating for 56 and a total occupancy load of 56.”

Hours of operation are listed as Sunday through Saturday 10am – 2am.

Here’s lots more info from their Kickstarter page:

“Chao Ku, which means “super cool” in Mandarin slang, is a fast casual Chinese restaurant set to open in 2015 in the historic Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, serving fresh, traditional Chinese dishes and craft beer.

The Concept

This concept is the brainchild of John Fielding, founder of Broad Branch Market in Northwest DC and Paul Pelt, former head chef at the Tabard Inn, a longtime culinary landmark in the district.

John and Paul love to eat. So much so that they’ve made it a lifelong quest to find tasty, affordable food wherever they go. After years of restaurant-hopping around DC, they found themselves, more often than not, ending up in ethnic Chinese joints in the suburbs outside of the city. Through these expeditions, they noticed that DC was lacking in high-quality Chinese food within the city. Chao Ku is the realization of their ideal to introduce DC to this cuisine with fast, super-friendly service and authentic ingredients and techniques.

John and Paul believe that a great meal doesn’t have to be expensive and that good food is best when shared. Chao Ku will serve traditional Chinese food made from fresh ingredients, a far cry from your standard food court Chinese. Think savory Tofu Edamame, slow-cooked spare ribs, Singapore noodles, and ‘Chinese burgers’ served in pita buns. The food will be served in the classic Chinese “family style,” with vegetarian and vegan options, so everyone can try a bit of everything and it’s easy to order more. Best of all, the majority of the entrees will be less than $10 each.”

You can read more here.

Check out the early menu and a flashback to Vegetate after the jump. Read More