I had the pleasure of chatting with owner/artist Ajani Hobson yesterday afteroon. Ajani, 40, moved to DC five years ago from Richmond, VA. His vision for the space is “a multi-purpose space with workshops, art classes, open mics, and some live music”. On Mondays there will be open mic nights and on Sundays there will be a DJ (and free Wifi). The other nights of the week the space will be available for artists to rent out to show their work.

He is currently waiting on a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO). I saw the architectural plans of the space and it looks like it’s gonna be pretty sweet. There will be a bar towards the back and a small stage towards the front. When he gets the CofO construction will begin immediately. He anticipates the space opening in Mid-April. While he ultimately hopes to add a bar it will only serve wine and beer (no liquor). While food will not be served here you’ll be able to go to the nearby Moroni & Bros, Fusion and the soon to open Ethiopian spot directly next door.

This sounds like it’s going to be a great addition to upper Georgia Ave. I’ll be sure to update as the permits come through and construction progresses.

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Thanks to a reader for the tip on this development. I’m a bit late on this one but folks have frequently asked me if I’d heard any news about this retail space that has been vacant for quite a while. Turns out it is run by a company called Beau Thai LLC.

After doing a google search I found the following from the Bloomingdale blog:

“She is aiming for an early March opening. She is a veteran in the Thai food business (and a relative of the operator of Thai X-Ing on Florida Avenue NW).

She will at first only have take-out service, as her zoning appears to be restricted to that for the time being (take-out was apparently grandfathered-in through prior use of the, very nice, building). She told me that what she really wants to do is a full-fledged sit-down Thai restaurant, however.”

Hopefully it opens soon. Lots of people love Thai X-ing on nearby Florida Avenue, NW so hopefully this space will offer similar quality.

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Well we’ve known that the Subway was coming since November but thanks to a reader for sending in the recently installed Coming Soon sign. So far we’ve got lots of coming soon signs in this retail space as well a cricket store. But I’ll be sure to update as these spots transition from coming soon to projected opening dates to they’re now open!

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We learned back in Dec. that the Cereal Bowl was going to occupy the old starbucks space at 3420 Connecticut Ave, NW. Well, I spoke with someone from their corporate headquarters who said they were hoping to open up March 27th. More info on Cereal Bowl here.

And right next door to this a tanning salon is coming in the old consignment shop space.

And a bit further north the new Walgreens looks nearly completed.

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Thanks to a reader for the heads up. LZ Middle East Restaurant closed back in early Jan.. Pica Taco has a current location at 1629 Columbia Road NW. We looked at it back in June ‘09. When I walked by there was still a bit of construction going on at the Florida Ave location.

Think the new spot will thrive given it’s somewhat tough location for a restaurant?

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First the scuttlebutt, I hear that the owner of nearby Lola’s and soon to open Cheseapeake Room (see below) has purchased the Veterinary clinic on the 500 block of 8th Street, SE (pictured above). More info on this space as it becomes available. As it is only scuttlebutt the purchase of the property has not yet been confirmed.

Barracks Row seems to be getting as many new bars/restaurants as H Street, NE. Georgia Ave has a bit of catching up to do…

And here are a few new restaurants on Barracks Row that we have previously discussed here. And the building from the owner’s of Matchbox is looking good as well:

Continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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Thanks to a reader for sending the tip (and photo). Looks like they’ll be opening up at 3161 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW – “a a few doors from Radius/Tonic.”

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Washington Business Journal reported the news yesterday:

“Adams Morgan nightspot Leftbank will close its doors on Saturday.

When reached by email, manager Gaye Gunes said the business has been sold, and the space will reopen as a new restaurant. No details on the new spot were immediately available.”

Leftbank was located at 2424 18th St., NW. I’ll be sure to update when more info becomes available about the new restaurant. Were there any fans of Leftbank out there?

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For the longest time I thought the Dry Cleaners coming soon sign was only a myth. Well it looks like Thai Tanic II is now going to have some company in the retail space of the Allegro building located at 3462 14th Street, NW. Work has progressed on the space and there are proper permits for a dry cleaners in the window.

And just up 14th Street, NW Social has applied to open up its third floor space. I liked how they wrote a personal letter to the community in addition to the license:

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From a press release:

“Local developer EYA and retail consultant/developer Streetsense partner to welcome Yes! Organic Market as the newest tenant set to occupy retail space at Arts District Hyattsville, the 25-acre mixed-use development emerging along historic Route 1 in downtown Hyattsville. This will be the eighth planned retail location in the metropolitan area for Yes!. The “living naturally” food store chain offers a refreshing mix of natural and organic groceries, health supplements, and eco-friendly household items.

Preliminary land development work has already begun for the new 36,000 s.f. retail town center at Arts District Hyattsville and construction is scheduled for completion late 2010. Yes! Organic Market, along with other retailers, are expected to be open for sales in Spring 2011.”

Yes! Organic will join Busboys and Poets and Tara Thai who have already signed onto the project. You can learn more about the project here.

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1223, located at 1223 Connecticut Ave, NW closed back in Jan. ‘09. Speaking with some neighbors they thought a restaurant was going in. I’ll be sure to keep my eye on this space and will update as more info becomes available. It is encouraging to see all the approval permits on the window…

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This is great timing as I was just asking a friend of mine what was going on with the old Waffle House located near E Street Cinema. Ed. Note: We saw An Education which I thought was terrific. I received an email update from the Downtown BID today with the news. They write:

Look for the old Waffle House (522 10th Street) to become the second DC location for Tackle Box, a Pure Hospitality Restaurant Group lobster shack. Located across from Ford’s Theatre (511 10th Street), the Waffle House offered steaks, grilled chicken and pork chops for breakfast, in addition to waffles, hot cakes and French toast. A different aroma will waft through the 10th Street corridor once Tackle Box, a casual sustainable seafood option, opens this fall and begins serving wood-grilled fish, crispy oysters, lobster rolls and other fare.

We judged the Georgetown location of Tackle Box here.

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Hill Country will be filling in the space of the old clothing store (I forget the name) at 410 7th Street, NW. The alcohol license application says that they’ll be specializing in BBQ:

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From an email:

“Currently operating out of the Brookland Tavern in Washington, DC and online, Capital City Cheesecakes is moving to the vibrant and eclectic community of Takoma Park, MD to open its first restaurant in the Spring of 2010.

The new bakery will include current favorites – miniature and petite-sized cheesecakes that offer just enough to satisfy even the most discriminating sweet tooth without breaking the calorie bank. When small is not enough, the large-sized cheesecakes fit the bill instead. Owners and sisters, Caitlin and Meaghan Murphy, will be expanding this current line of cheesecakes to now include baked goods and coffees during the week and more extensive breakfast offerings on weekend mornings. These former teachers, with a passion for both painting and teaching art, also plan to create an interactive bakery setting that offers activities for all ages, including cooking classes for adults, edible art parties for children and internships for teenagers who want to pursue a career in the food industry.”

They are taking over the old Savory Cafe at 7071 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park, MD

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Thanks to a reader for the heads up:

“It appears a new pho place will be opening at 608 H St NW, according to DC Register. It looks like they’ll be applying for a liquor license and will be open til 3 am!”

The liquor application says:

“NATURE OF OPERATION
Asian and Vietnamese cuisine. 65 seats and total capacity load of 65 on first floor and
storage on the second floor.

HOURS OF OPERATION
Sunday through Thursday 9 am – 2 am and Friday & Saturday 9 am – 3 am”

And speaking of Pho a reader has some veggie Pho news from Pho Viet (3513 14th Street, NW):

“I’m a regular at Pho Viet. Nina and Mike are really great people and have put a lot of work into their restaurant and I’m dying for them to succeed. They spent a year renovating that basement and they’re some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that they added veggie pho to their menu and they have a chicken pho too (with beef broth). When you originally posted about them, there were a few commenters who wanted veggie pho.”

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