944 Florida Ave, NW, (at W Street by 9:30 Club) home to Darnell’s Bar in the evenings, is getting a pop up coffee house called The Blind Dog Cafe. They have soft opened this week but officially open Feb. 12th at 2pm.

Co-Owner Noah Karesh (other partners are Jonas Singer and Cullen Gilchrist) tells me:

The Blind Dog is a pop-up cafe located in the heart of Washington DC. We love espresso, good conversations, and building a community. We will be serving great coffee, delicious sandwiches and salads, and an assortment of other homemade goodies.

Our standard hours are from 7AM-4PM 7 days a week. In the evening the place turns back to Darnell’s Bar

In general our menu is focused on simple ingredients prepared in a delicious and authentic manner. Most of our food is either local and or home made. Some highlight from the food side are the fresh baked Croissant and other assorted backed goods which come from Black Strap Bakery (@BlackStrapCo) (a local startup bakery, who bake out of our kitchen). We are making our own roast beef and turkey for the sandwiches as well as all of our finishing salts, aiolis , pickles, granola. The list can go on. On the drink side beside one of a small few places in DC serving PTs Coffee, we are doing a pour over bar ( i think the only one in DC). We are serving the amazing Rishi teas and finally we are making our own home-sodas (flavors include Vanilla, Lemon, Lime, Blood Orange, Passion Fruit).

Check out the menu after the jump. (more…)

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has opened up at 1919 Connecticut Ave, NW in the Hilton.

Their Website says:

Born and brewed in Southern California since 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® is the oldest and largest privately-held specialty coffee and tea retailer in the United States. Beginning with our first café in Brentwood, California, we have always been passionate about connecting loyal customers to one another with carefully handcrafted products.

Known for sourcing and providing the finest ingredients and flavors, we have built relationships with the best private coffee farms and tea estates around the world, selecting only the top 1% Arabica beans and finest hand plucked, whole leaf teas. Our coffee is freshly roasted daily in small batches in a manual European roast style in our private roasting facility. All of our teas are hand blended under the direction of our tea master. Today we proudly offer over 30 varieties of coffee and 20 varieties of tea. And for nearly 50 years, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® has demonstrated a passion for product innovation epitomized by The Original Ice Blended® beverage.

Any fans? I was digging the lounge area:

On Sunday afternoon, @MrTinDC noticed some folks at Coffy Cafe coming to 3310 14th St, NW, and was wondering when they’d be opening. I stopped in to get a quick update and indeed they had just finished a staff meeting and are now aiming for a grand opening on Feb. 18th. While the furniture is still getting set up, I did see some awesome mod furniture. Gonna be a great addition to Columbia Heights.

Thanks to a reader for sending word of a “new coffee roaster/cafe” coming to 2904 Georgia Ave, NW. He writes:

“The owner was one of those typical super nice, optimistic Ethiopian guys and stressed that they would have their own coffee roaster. They have the tables and a coffee bar already set up, so it looks like they should be open any day now. I also heard that the same builder of the new nearby Condo, is now going to build a twin condo building on the same block where the auto mechanic currently is located. All this with the Jazz club across the street should make the tiny 2900 Blk of Georgia Ave quite the happening place!”

The Enterprise Theater and Jazz Lounge’s website says:

“Grand Opening. Event consists of 3 days of Music, Theater and Art. Official Kick off is Thursday February 2nd, 3rd and 4th. All events start at 4pm.”

2917 Georgia Ave. NW

I was psyched to learn that BakeHouse is coming to 14th and T St, NW. I emailed owner Niall Cooper for some details and she writes:

We are in the final stages of lease negotiations for a space in a new build on T street, right off 14th (behind Policy, across T St from Room and Board). The development is due for completion in the Fall, to be built by Eichberg Construction. The one-story post office is part of the same project, but our shop will be located in a new building that will be constructed in the small empty lot next door.

Our menu will consist of house-made baked goods and high quality coffees and teas. We’ll serve updated classics with modern flavor profiles.

We took part in the last the Grey DC Market, which was a great success, and we hope to do more markets over the coming months.

Sounds great. I’ll let everyone know when the next market is scheduled. They project to open in 213 days and counting. Think this’ll be a good fit for 14th and T St, NW?

Last weekend, I noticed the sign that the Starbucks at 3430 Wisconsin Ave, NW was closing Jan. 29th. And WTOP (via DCist) shares a very interesting fact – it is the first Starbucks to open on the east coast:

The first Starbucks store on the East Coast, which opened in 1993 on Wisconsin Avenue near the National Cathedral, will serve its last drink Sunday.

Starbucks says it will reopen upon completion of the new Cathedral Commons Center, which will be anchored by a new Giant supermarket.

Beveragemania finally has a new tenant, Cuzzin’s, coming soon to 849 Upshur St, NW. I spoke to a worker who said that it would basically be a lot like Beveragemania, featuring coffee, drinks and ice cream. I’ll be sure to follow up when they open. At the very least, I love the name – this’ll drive grammar sticklers crazy but I knew other people used ‘s like I do

Back in Oct. we learned that Uncle Chip’s was coming to 1514 North Capitol St, NW south of Florida Ave. They’ve recently opened and the space looks great!

Anyone try them out yet?

Menu after the jump. (more…)

Le Caprice DC recently opened up at 3460 14th St, NW in Columbia Heights. So far the buzz has been phenomenal with one caveat – the coffee. I’m happy to report that Le Caprice DC has now acquired a UNIC Espresso maker, apparently the Cadillac of espresso makers. Anyone try it out yet?

To be honest I’m still most excited about this:

Love Cafe is located at 1501 U St., NW. From Cake Love’s Web site:

“After 8 wonderful years, Love Cafe will be closing at the end of this month. Our final day of business will be Sunday January 29th.”

Washington Business Journal got the reason from owner Warren Brown:

“Brown said increasing rents that the restaurant could not sustain drove the decision to close the cafe’s doors. Brown will still have an operations base on U Street, as there is a CakeLove location there at 1506 U St.”

Were there any fans of Love Cafe?

Our last update on Coffy Cafe located at 3310 14th St, NW in Columbia Heights said they were hoping for a Jan. opening. I stopped in last Mon. and got a chance to take a look at the space. I’m happy to say that Coffy Cafe is hoping for a soft opening in a couple of weeks and a grand opening in Feb. Take a look at their menu here.

I was psyched to see that the space is much larger than I originally thought it would be. Obviously there are some finishing touches ongoing but I’m told the place is gonna be decked out with 50s/60s comfy furniture. Stay tuned for a proper preview soon.

Dear PoPville,

Lot 38 in Capitol Riverfront is now open. They were giving out free drinks yesterday until 6 pm. [Ed. Note: Oops, sorry I didn't get that posted yesterday!] I believe the gentleman behind the counter is the owner, but I just snapped the pics and didn’t go for the full (or partial) interview…. The other two pics are from each end of the upstairs seating section. It’s nice to see this finally open as there seemed to be some sort of delay in the middle of the construction process, but I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

Great addition to the neighborhood! Lot 38 is located at 2nd and L St, SE.

Dear PoP,

Any new scoop on when Coffy Café in Columbia Heights is planning on opening?

I was wondering the same thing. Here’s an update the owner sent me last week:

Things are chugging along at Coffy! Right now we are painting, building out the counters, finishing the “rough-in” of plumbing and electrical and also finalizing the webpage www.coffycafe.com. We should be completing our first round of preliminary inspections next week. With any luck we will be finished with build-out in Mid-Dec and opening sometime in January.

Coffy Cafe is coming to 3310 14th St, NW across the street from the Tivoli (14th and Park Rd, NW)

“Dear PoPville,

I saw this banner posted on a building at 2nd and L st SE that I probably passed a few dozen times without ever noticing the construction. It’ll be great to have an option for sandwiches other than subway.”

Very cool.

Just wait until you get the Boilermaker shops.

View Larger Map

When Mid City Caffe closed I assumed folks would head to the Peregrine nearby. I totally forgot about Cafe Collage which went under new management way back in March 2009. Cafe Collage is located right next to Cafe St. Ex at 1346 T St, NW. Their Web site says:

“Our quiet location is the perfect place to catch up on some coffee-infused study or work time, fuel your brain with our Da Vinci Tea St. Special Grilled Veggi, or treat yourself to our renowned Picasso roast beef and cheese sandwich. You can also take advantage of our basement quarters and have an intimate conversation with several family members and friends without being packed against a series of wi-fi users. (Although we do have room for you, too…)”

Looks like they also quote a previous PoP commenter who is a fan. I don’t know why I always forget about this place. You can see their full menu here. And I now see:

“We now feature beer & wine! A glass of house wine, domestic, or imported beer costs only $3.”

Any fans?