I’m only calling this scuttlebutt because I haven’t been able to officially confirm but I believe this has a high likelihood of being true. Here’s an email apparently from an employee that a reader forwarded to me:

“Due to the Whale’s location to Camelot, they have decided to start a new thing on Thursday’s. It’s called Topless Thursday’s. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to come to The Whale topless. However, the bar staff will be. All of the female bartenders were told to wear “skimpy” bras, and for those of you who have been before we have some HOT female bartenders. Secondly, all of the male bartenders will be shirtless with a bow tie. Yes, that includes yours truly. So come to see the hot ladies and laugh at me. It’s gonna be the wildest thing in DC.”

A few weeks ago I wondered what changes were coming to The Whale (formerly Sign of the Whale located 1825 M Street, NW) but I never would have guessed this…

Has anyone else heard about this? This could be a hoax but if true do you think this a smart promotion?

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Urbana Restaurant and Wine Bar located at 2121 P Street, NW in Dupont is giving away 300 bagged lunches on Thursday to celebrate their new lunch menu. You can see the new menu here – Lunch Menu. From an email:

“The restaurant wants people to “fall in love” with the new menu, and since they’re giving it away on April Fools the tagline is “Only Fools Fall In Love.” The giveaway will include a bagged lunch featuring a sandwich from the new menu – the pulled pork parmesan sandwich (made with braised pork shoulder, Bolognese sauce, mozzarella and radicchio), a dilled pickle, a chocolate chip cookie, and a bottle of water. The lunches will be available while supplies last, (first come first serve basis) and they’ll start at 11:30 on Thursday.”

Sounds pretty sweet.

“Dear PoP,

Do you know what happened the Rita’s Custard and Italian Ice in Columbia Heights? It was due to open on March 20th—but now it seems like it is closed permanently. Do you know anything more?

Rita’s will be missed!”

Sorry for the delay in answering this question but I wanted to get to it now because I saw a tweet from @theheightslife saying that Rita’s in Columbia Heights Plaza has closed. Yes it absolutely has closed. But all hope is not lost for Rita fans. We have to consider this scuttlebutt, I haven’t been able to confirm yet, but another reader spoke with some workers in the Rita’s on Sunday and they said that they were relocating across the street, most likely into a DC USA space. I’ll be sure to update if and when I can confirm.

This is pretty wild. On the 2600 block of Connecticut Ave, NW a building is getting renovated. The building is home to two retail spaces – one vacant and one a dry cleaners. Well a trailer has been placed on the sidewalk out front where the drycleaners will operate out of until the renovations are completed. In all the time of been watching buildings get renovated I’ve never seen a solution like this.

Do you think this is a good temporary solution?

In Aix en Provence, France there are many of these bronze looking buttons that mark the steps of its most famous resident Paul Cezanne. This obviously not the same. This button was found on the bridge between Mt. Pleasant and Cleveland Park on Porter. I’m especially curious since it was on a bridge. Any ideas?

It’s been a while since I walked by the 1500 block of 7th Street, NW. I’ll be sure to update when the building is completed. You can learn more about this great group here.

My all time favorite house numbers from Adams Morgan.

I don’t know how this one survived but I think it looks great.

This is located at 1541 14th Street, NW, formerly the home of Candida’s World of Books. I can’t remember if we’ve spoken about this new business but can someone refresh my memory: What type of store will Well Built be? Or do you think it will be something like offices? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow… Stay tuned.

Seems like we’ve been hearing a lot of scuttlebutt about buildings in Columbia Heights, first the vacant one at 11th and Monroe then the other vacant one at 11th and Park and now this one at 1346 Park Road, NW (next to the Dry Cleaners and across the street from the Giant).

A reader writes that bids are due today for the 24 unit building and that: “They are selling it as a total rehab and upgrade for condo conversion.”

More info as it becomes available.

“Dear PoP,

Just had to give a local business two thumbs up. I found them because of a recommendation one of your readers gave some time ago. D’Carlo Upholstery at 7327 Georgia Ave, NW just repaired some leather cushion covers for me and did a fantastic job at a reasonable price. The workmanship was impeccable and they literally left me with a better product than I had originally purchased. In addition, the owner, Carlo, was extremely amiable (as were the employees). He’s had the shop for 35 years as an immigrant from El Salvador.”

Great to hear. If anyone else has a local (preferably a bit beneath the radar) business that deserves some props, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.

This apartment is located at 1801 Clydesdale Place, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

”
My studio apartment is available for immediate move-in at $1095 a month. The details are below, but, suffice it to say, this apartment is great. My favorite part is its perfect location; the apartment is in a quiet, beautiful, and safe neighborhood, but it’s also 5 minutes away from 18th and Columbia, the main downtown area of Adams Morgan. 18th Street is alive on weekends because of its many restaurants, cafes, and clubs. Most importantly, the apartment itself is beautiful, with hardwood floors, great sunlight, and a nice view.”

Given yesterday’s request for suggestions of where to look for around $1000, this one jumped out at me. Think $1095 sounds good?

Photo by PoPville flickr user *tinadelarosa

“Dear PoP,

My husband and I are moving to Petworth next month with our 6 month old daughter. We love the neighborhood, but are busily trying to find a good daycare for our daughter. Any recommendations? What daycares do the citizens of PoPville love?”

Who do you guys use? And if you feel comfortable can you say how much they charge and whether or not there was a waiting list? Also, please leave the name of the neighborhood where your daycare is as well.

Great shot of “Payton and Bishop” above from AWard Tour. And below are some beautiful blossoms from the White House by K’s Clicks.

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here. Follow PoPville on twitter here.

This home is located at 3132 P Street, NW:

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The flier says:

“Detached Federal features 5BR, 4.5FB, master with sitting room overlooking the peaceful garden, large entertaining spaces, expansive kitchen, au pair suit with side entrance, wine seller, laundry, large paved back yards. Located in the hart of the East Village with a quaint private garden offer a tranquil spot within city living. Leased till 8/31/2012 at $ 7500/mo with annual increments.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

It’s been a while since we checked out some Georgetown house porn. I’m gonna be honest and say this isn’t may favorite one straight off. However, I’m curious to know what you think of the fact that it is leased until 8/31/2012? Who would drop over $2.5 million with such a stipulation?

So what do you think of the house itself? I’m a sucker for bookshelves… Obviously the location is very desirable to many so do you think they’ll get near their asking of $2,750,000?

Ed. Note: I’ve received all the reader suggestions for regular GDoN posts but if you have suggestions for house porn posts don’t hesitate to email me as well.