Yesterday I requested folks send some nominees for Danger Watch to princeofpetworth(at)gmail. I got lots of good nominations but one that jumped out at me was Parc Deux because I had been emailing ANC2F02 Commissioner Nick Barron for an update on the old Shirt Laundry space at 14th and Q St, NW in Logan Circle. I first shared scuttlebutt that a Stephen Starr restaurant was interested in this space back in May 2011. In Nov. 2011 a liquor license application was listed for Parc Deux to become

“a French restaurant, bistro, and café serving classic French cuisine for breakfast, lunch dinner and brunch.”

To make a long story short, Commissioner Baron answers that a Voluntary Agreement has been signed. This paves the way for construction to begin soon. Stay tuned.

And in completely unrelated news – these pigeons on the church behind the space were freaking me out:

Great news for Standard fans (14th and S St, NW.) I can’t believe it’s almost Spring already.

I recently begged Bar Pilar to hurry up with their construction at 1833 14th St, NW. Sorta good news:

Thank you!

More restaurant news for Logan Circle. A retail space has been revealed for The District apartment building coming to 1401 S St, NW (was originally condos now rentals.) A liquor license application says it will be a:

“New restaurant with upscale Southeast Asian cuisine in a contemporary setting. Seating capacity is 185. Total occupancy load is 215. A Sidewalk Café with seating for 40 patrons.”

@toddkliman tweeted a few details:

Mark Kuller is opening a new restaurant at 14th and S NW “inspired by the cuisines of SE Asia.” Late fall, early winter.

Chef Haidar Karoum of Proof, Estadio “will bring modern techniques & execution to these traditional dishes,” says Kuller.

It will have an open kitchen & a curated cocktail bar, headed by Adam Bernbach, that will seat another 40. A patio will seat 40, as well.

We’ll revisit as construction progresses and when they get closer to opening.

Back in Nov. 2010, we learned that HR-57 was moving from 1610 14th St, NW to H Street, NE. The Logan Circle space, located next to Pearl Dive, remained vacant ever since. It was only a matter of time before someone scooped up this prime location. A recent liquor license application says it will be a:

“New full service Italian gastro-pub and wine bar with DJ or live music, no more than five piece bands. Dancing with no designated dance floor, and occasional cover change.”

Like the idea of an Italian gastro-pub and wine bar here? Stay tuned for more info when it becomes available.

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?

From our old friend Danny Harris:

In honor of Valentine’s Day, People’s District is taking over the Room and Board furniture store on February 7th for The Anecdote: Stories about Not Love. Come get under the covers, gather around the table, and get comfy on the couch as storytellers regale you with tales of terrible dating, no sex, awkward sex, failed love, and (pre-Lady Gaga) bad romance.

And, who better to share such stories of failed romantic conquests than Danny Harris, Chris Keener, Vijai Nathan, Amy Saidman, Jennifer Tress, and Patrick White.
If you needed more incentive to come, Room and Board will be giving a $250 gift card to a lucky attendee.

$10 gets you in bed with a storyteller. Sadly, given the theme, we can’t promise anything more than that…

Room and Board (1840 14th St NW – 4th Floor)

February 7th
7:00 – 9:00pm

RSVP here

AYT Auto closed at the end of Dec. ’11 at 14th and R St, NW (next to Miss Pixie’s.) Looks like Aston Condos construction is progressing and will soon overtake the AYT mural. I’ll remember you fondly.

Bar Pilar, 1833 14th St, NW, closed for renovations at the end of Nov. and hoped to be open by New Year’s. I peeked in over the weekend:

Well, I miss them, hurry up please. What do you guys think – another month?

Dear PoPville,

We’ve lived in Logan for three years now and have never been in or seen anyone inside the Monarch Novelites store on 14th (just south of P). Not to mention, we’ve only seen it open a few times. Just curious if you know what’s going on in that place…

Back in June 2009 we learned a bit when I gave Monarch Novelites Door of the Day honors.

In 2005 the City Paper wrote:

The parcel within the Jefferson site isn’t the first bit of Robinson property that the family has fervidly defended. A 1968 photo from the Washington Post shows the Robinson boys guarding their father’s 14th Street shop, Monarch Novelties, on a summer day when business owners feared a reprise of the riots that had devastated the neighborhood earlier in the year. Standing inside their storefront, with children’s stuffed animals hanging innocently over their heads, Tommy dangles a pistol over his knee and Bo stands with a shotgun half-drawn.

Tommy has lived above that shop, in his father’s house, since he was a teenager in the ’50s. One of 11 children, he’s spent most of his life helping the family run their carnival-supply business—“Dad caught the carnival bug when he was 13,” says Tommy—and for decades they’ve been supplying whatever market there is in the District for giant inflatable crayons and oversized clown eyeglasses. His brother Douglas, an even greater eccentric with a mountaineer’s long gray beard, can usually be seen sitting still through the Monarch’s window, amid the pink and blue stuffed animals. Somehow the Monarch has survived as other old-school businesses have been taxed out during 14th Street’s transformation into an urban-chic commercial strip. But whatever the Robinsons’ trick is to surviving revitalization, it doesn’t involve courting walk-in traffic: Curious window-shoppers need to be buzzed in by Douglas before they can even enter the store.

Anyone else ever venture inside?