Cool old photo tweeted out by Union Station:
“#UnionStationDC 50 years ago after the #marchonwashington”
Union Station
Thanks to PoPville twitter follower schwars1 for sending word “New Pret a Manger (@Pret_uk) open in Union Station, and it looks awesome.”
I was pretty surprised to see this set up at Union Station. I could understand the old Best Buy kiosks where you could buy a new set of headphones but this just seems crazy to me. I guess if your train is delayed 6 hours but can you imagine a scenario in which someone would shop at a Kohl’s department store kiosk?
Tops is located in the former liquor store on the 1st floor towards the rear (Union Wine and Liquor is now located in the basement with the food court.)
Still waiting on the Pret a Manger:
At the end of October, the restaurant America closed in Union Station. The space has been completely gutted:
I also noticed that the small retail spaces adjacent to the former restaurant have been closed and drywalled over:
Though comic fans should know Phantom has moved upstairs:
I chatted with a bunch of merchants who all believe a new restaurant will be moving into the space. Though a few had also heard that Starbucks would be moving into the space. Starbucks currently has a small space closer to the Amtrak loading zones. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.
An @PoPville reader asks on twitter:
“Why did Union Station put a no pedestrians sign by the sidewalk entrance to the garage?”
I saw lots of pedestrians using this exit over the weekend so perhaps the sign is just for the street part? Anyone know if this is enforced on the sidewalk as well? This garage in the rear of Union Station leads to some of the intercity buses like Bolt Bus and the path is a very popular route to H Street, NE.
“Dear PoPville,
I rode in a Unity Cab last night via a forced shared taxi setup at Union Station. It seemed like a good idea when the dispatcher started grouping riders by location, especially as the line of people waiting for a taxi grew: group shared taxi = lower costs all around, right? Unfortunately, my taxi driver broke the law when he did not reset his meter after each dropoff. Worse, when I questioned him about the fare, he lied to me, insisting that Union Station fares are an ‘exception’ to the law. Even though I asked, I still paid almost the full fare but instantly regretted this (at 1 am, who really wants to get in an argument with a taxi driver, even if they are in the right?).
Looking online, this seems to be a pretty entrenched operation at Union Station not limited to Unity Taxi – other taxis do it too, and have been for a while. What’s annoying is that they probably get away with it most of the time, especially late at night and with out of towners.
As soon as I got home, I confirmed what I already suspected: If you’re forced to share a taxi, or even if you share one with a friend, the cabbie is required by law to reset the meter each time a passenger gets out. No exceptions or exemptions. And, you can decline to share a taxi with other passengers.
I wrote to Mary Cheh (on the transportation committee) who forwarded my note to Ron Linton, the Taxi Commissioner. No matter what happens at the city council level though, I want to do what I can to raise awareness of this lousy practice. I admit that I cringe almost every time I get in a DC taxi, expecting the driver will come up with some extra fee for something totally arbitrary – it’s extremely rare that I ever encounter an honest cabbie in this city.
In the meantime, I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this, or another form of taxi scam in DC?”
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Back in July ’11 I passed on some scuttlebutt that a “french sandwich shop” was coming to the old Union Wine & Liquor space in Union Station. In August ’11 we learned that a Tops Frozen Yogurt would be filling that space. But it turns out a French Sandwich shop is coming to Union Station. The old post office that was located next to Union Wine & Liquor (post office is now downstairs) is going to become a Pret a Manger. I spoke with a worker who said the Pret was still a good month out before opening.
Incidentally, Union Wine & Liquor has reopened in the basement of Union Station:
Though it was closed on Sunday – looking in the window – seems like a bit of an upgrade:
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Thanks to a reader for sending the heads up. (Go2) Tops will be located in the former Union Wine and Liquor. Looks like the promise of a French Sandwich shop was wish just wishful hoping.
Anyone ever hear of (Go2) Tops before?
Last week we learned that Union Station Wine & Liquor had closed. A twitter follower mentioned that they heard it was going to move downstairs in the former pharmacy space. So I’ve got a bit more info to share. The former Pharmacy space downstairs is going to become the Post Office. The Post Office space upstairs is slated to close (next to the already closed Wine & Liquor space.)
Soon to be a “French Sandwich Shop”
I asked a guy who worked nearby and he said it was going to be a French sandwich shop. I asked if he was referring to Pret a Manger but all he could say was a French restaurant with lots of sandwiches. There is already an Au Bon Pain so I couldn’t think of any other French sounding options. So stay tuned for who will fill the space. Back to Wine & Liquor he said, he also heard it would be moving downstairs but he didn’t know the exact location.
Former Pharmacy downstairs, future Post Office