Wow, there is a crazy real estate piece in this week’s Northwest Current (click on No. 10 to download a PDF copy). They write:

“The residential portion of the building at 475 H St. is offered for $2,495,000. The commercial property is listed for $1,295,000; together, the two are available for $3,750,000. For details, contact Jonathan Taylor of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty at 202-276-3344 or jtaylor@ttrsir.com.”

Do you think this is just to become the landlord? I’m guessing that the coffee shop has signed a multi-year lease? Anyone know?

We took a look at Chinatown Coffee Co. this summer.

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Back in the begining of Jan. we heard that Adams Morgan was getting a new coffee shop at 2204 18th Street, NW. It has officially opened. It’s a nice little space with pastries and other food options (the menu was still be finalized when I stopped in) as well as coffee. To the reader who inquired in a previous post – they don’t have the comfy chairs like Tryst. But it is a very comfortable and clean looking space. Anyone try their coffee yet?

A couple more photos after the jump. Read Full Post

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A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Dupont Circle was getting a new coffee shop called Filter located at 1726 20th St, NW. I was able to swing by and chat with owner Rasheed Jabr on Friday.

Filter has received nearly all of their permits and hopes to open this Thursday, March 12th. It might be worth calling just to make sure they’re open if you want to stop by on Thurs. (202-234-5837). Filter will be open from 7am – 7pm seven days a week.

This is a proper coffee shop along the lines of Peregrine, Qualia, Mid City Caffe etc.

In addition to coffee, tea will also be available as will some pastries. While bagels will not be available, they will be providing daily fresh Faselle (a type of bread) that can be served with butter, jam and/or cream cheese.

And of course Wifi will be available.

As always the photos will do more justice than I can:

More photos after the jump including coffee and tea menus. Read Full Post

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“Dear PoP,

I walked past the Mocha Lounge yesterday and although it was closed, it looked really inviting- lots of pillows, armchairs, sort of a Euro cafe vibe (at least to my caffeine-starved brain). Do you know if they’re actually serving coffee there yet? Yelp says the bar area has opened but I’m more interested in the espresso.”

When I last wrote about Mocha Lounge, located at 944 Florida Ave, NW, a few commenters mentioned that it was open for a new year’s party. Sadly every time I’ve walked by during the day it has been closed. So for those that live nearby, what’s the scoop here?

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Puro Cafe has opened up at 1529 Wisconsin Ave, NW. It’s got a bit of a modern look:

Their Web site is a bit slow but if you wait it out you can see their menus here.

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View Larger Map

Thanks to a reader for sending the heads up on this new coffee shop coming to 1726 20th St, NW between R & S in Dupont. Their Web site says they’ll open in Winter of ‘09 and I’ll be sure to update when that happens.

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“Dear PoP,

Just curious as to whether you’ve ever stopped by Peregrine Espresso? Truly, the best latte in town –by far!
Locally owned and operated! Excellent service; kind and responsive staff. Clean, retro, minimalist decor. Simply excellent java, brewed by the cup!”

I recall folks talking about Peregrine Espresso located at 660 Pennsylvania Ave SE (near Eastern Market) in a previous post. Clearly the word is out because I went by this weekend to try a latte but the place was packed. Sadly, my patience for waiting on lines is horrible so I bailed. For those that have been – would you say they have some of the best coffee in town? Is it worth making a special trip?

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Ever since I learned that Mocha Lounge would be reopening at 944 Florida Ave, NW (near 9:30 Club) I’ve been checking for progress. I stopped by last weekend and it’s looking really close. I spoke to a neighbor who told me that the owner said he was hoping to get things rolling in 2 weeks. Stay tuned.

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Well this is exciting news for Adams Morgan. There has been a lot of lamenting about closed storefronts on 18th Street, so it’s nice to see some new businesses going in. It will be located at 2204 18th Street, NW next to the clothing store Shake Your Booty. Here’s to hoping they have good bagels!

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Qualia Coffee is located at 3917 Georgia Ave., NW. (Ed. Note: Fresh Off the Roast Coffee is a PoP advertiser) From an email:

“I am trying to get the word out that Qualia will be staying open late Tuesday and Wednesday night to facilitate last minute holiday preparations. Whether our neighbors are thinking of coffee beans as gifts or just need a caffeine kick start to a long evening of shopping, Qualia is there for you.

Our hours this week:
Tuesday & Wednesday – 7:30 AM until 9:00 PM
Thursday – 7:30 AM until 2:30 PM
Friday CLOSED
Saturday & Sunday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (our normal hours)”

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Mid City Caffe is located at 1626 14th Street, NW above Miss Pixies. From an email:

“Mid City Caffe is proud to host local musician, Chris Strong, for the upcoming Mid City Acoustic Session on Tuesday, Dec. 15th at 7pm. This event is free! Come out and enjoy some live music and coffee specials. We look forward to seeing you!

We are also looking for any local creative people who wish to share their talents with the Mid City community! Any interested musician, poet or writer may sign up for a performance time in person at Mid City Caffe, or email info@midcitycaffe.com for more information.”

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“Dear PoP,

I was shocked to find out on Saturday that Sticky Fingers (on Park Road, east of 14th) is no longer offering wifi on the weekends. I imagine it’s in response to too many people ordering one cup of coffee and sitting for four hours, but it really takes away my incentive to ever go there. I am currently looking for government jobs, for which the entire application process is online. With my current 9 to 5 job, the best time for me to work on applications is on the weekend and I much prefer doing this outside of my house. I always buy more than just a cup of coffee too. It seems like the greater Columbia Heights neighborhood is desperately in need of more coffee shops/cafes that offer wifi, not fewer. I’ve been at Tryst at 11 pm on a Tuesday and it’s packed with people on their laptops. Any suggestions on a place to find wifi on the weekends? I’d also like to get other readers thoughts on the decision of Sticky Fingers, Tynan, Tryst to not offer wifi at certain times.”

When I stopped in the store they said wifi would no longer be offered on Saturdays but would still be available on Sundays. Please let me know if that’s not accurate. I happen to be a big fan of Columbia Heights Coffee on 11th between Park and Monroe. Though the spot is a bit small. Other readers have mentioned some of their favorite spots here. Since then Mid City Cafe on 14th above Miss Pixie’s also seems to be a popular spot. Please add your recommendations in the comments as well as your thoughts in general on restricting wifi use. Would you pay for wifi at a coffee shop?

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As Tynan Coffee & Tea marks its first month in business, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to our guests. We are grateful to receive so much input regarding our new shop.  From the outset, we have sought feedback to improve the customer experience and we appreciate the many thoughtful and constructive comments that we have received.  A number of important points were made in the recent Prince of Petworth posting and the corresponding comments and we would like to update you on our efforts:

Customer Service:  This is an extremely important issue for us and we feel strongly that we have an experienced and friendly staff.  As with any new endeavor our approach is evolving as we attempt to provide an enjoyable experience.  We will continue to work towards providing exceptional service to each and every one of our guests.

Customer Feedback: We encourage all of our guests to provide feedback to us at the feedback@tynancoffeeandtea.com email address that is posted throughout the shop and on our website (www.tynancoffeeandtea.com ).  We check this account daily and make every effort to respond to each person.  Your input is extremely beneficial to us and we ask that you continue sending your comments and suggestions.

WiFi Policy:  A number of questions have been raised about our internet policy and we apologize for any confusion.  We are very happy to offer free internet service.  In order to provide the strongest signal, we password protect access so that usage is available to only those in our shop.  While guests do need to request a second ticket from a barista when their initial hour expires, we do not require a second purchase.

Based in large measure on guest feedback, we have revised our WiFi policy as follows:

Monday through Friday:  Free service is available all day

Saturday and Sunday: Free service is available from 3pm to close

While we are gratified by how many people enjoy being in our space, we felt compelled and were urged by many of our guests to limit WiFi on the weekends in order to accommodate other customers looking for space to sit and eat.

Lighting: We agree with many of the comments that we received regarding the lighting.  Just last week we replaced all overhead lights with softer bulbs.  We hope the change provides a warmer environment.

We have truly enjoyed becoming a part of the Columbia Heights community and we look forward to continuing to grow and improve.  Our goal is to provide an outstanding customer experience, both through our offerings and the environment that we create in our space.  We sincerely hope that you will stop in for some coffee, tea or food and please do not hesitate to let us know what you think.

Jim & Brian Sullivan

Tynan Coffee & Tea
1400 Irving Street, NW
14th & Irving Streets at the Columbia Heights Metro

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There have been a lot of comments over the last few weeks about Tynan Coffee & Tea at 1400 Irving Street, NW. There have been positive and negative comments. But I figured I’d make a new post after receiving a letter from a reader sent to the owners. It is very negative and I’m wondering what the overall sentiment is. I know that the owners will read this post so if you have suggestions def. make them. What’s your overall feel of the place so far? Following is a lengthy letter written from a reader to the owners of Tynan:

“I have visited your store for a total of 4 times, hoping the next trip will be better than the previous, but sad to say I was deeply disappointed.

I am a very active member of the Columbia Heights community since 2002. I love the neighborhood and am very excited about all business that opens up. I specially enjoy coffee shops and was very happy for Tynan Coffee & Tea opening. I send tons of emails to my friends and family (lots of them) about your business and was at the store the 2nd day it opened with my partner. Our initial reaction was that it was a beautiful space, a bit bright, a kind of space we would like to come frequently. We were not able to get seating that day so we got our lattés (skim with No foam) and left the store.

2nd trip was with my sister and her boyfriend. There were some seating by the fireplace. My sister loves fireplaces so they sat there as I proceed to order for everyone. 1 Coffee drink, 1 pumpkin spice latté, and 1 chi latté. The barrister women proceed to make the specialty drinks. I noticed that she was scooping powder out of the cups as she was trying to (I guess) get the right amount. I thought that was weird since drinks should have a pre determined measuring to get the right flavor/taste. I then saw her use the same spoon to mix both drinks without rinsing it in between. She then proceeds to cover both drinks with tops, but she realized she did not know which drink was which so I heard her say to herself “I don’t know which one is which…” followed by.. “I don’t care.” I was amazed by what I heard so I said to her, Excuse me? She did not even bother to look up to explain herself or anything, she just asked the male barrister guy to come and help her. She explained to him that she could not tell which drink was which. He opened the top from one of the cups, brought a small cup, poured some into the small cup, proceed to taste it, and decided which one was which drink, put the top back on (without refilling the cup with more milk) and handed it to me. During the whole time, neither of them seems concerned with what just happened, didn’t care less, and didn’t say I am sorry or anything like that. At this point, I am not happy, but did not want to spoil the experience to my sister and her boyfriend so I kept my cool. I went to get napkin and by then I have no clue which drink is which. I used the small strew to test both drinks, both tasted the same to me. I went back to the barrister guy and requested they do both drinks again, he did it correctly, and that was the end of that.

3rd visit, my partner and I went for latté. I ordered latté and it was a disaster. The latté smelled and tested so bad I only had one sip and that was it. The latté took on an Oder of some “skin condition cream” I never know what it is, but I know I do not like the smell whenever someone who had it on is near me. I really did not want to go back to the barrister lady to ask her to remake my drink since this would have been our 2nd interaction about a bad/incorrect drink. I really did not need the latté that much so my partner and I just decided to leave. Continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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I just saw for the first time the new(ish) mural at U Street Cafe located at 1301 U Street, NW. It was painted one of my favorite muralists in DC, Joel Bergner. It was so big I couldn’t get it all in one photo. But here’s the rest:

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