Come celebrate the holidays with your friends and neighbors. Blagden Alley Naylor Court Association Holiday Party will be Thursday night 6:30-9PM at the home of Elizabeth Blakeslee. Please bring an Hors D'Oeuvre or snack to share. If you are reading this you probably received the evite, please RSVP
Address: 1325 13th Street #53 Enter from the gate to the right of the Iowa Condo High Rise. She is in the first townhouse up and to the right, fronts on 13th Street.
Other things to mention, given I'm off and its a cold rainy day (Dec 26):
A&D is now open, stop by for a drink and a snack from the owners of Seasonal Pantry and Sundevich, Dan and Ali. They are open 6 days a week until the Spring when they will open for Brunch.
Cher Cher at 1334 9th is open and has their liquor license, stop by for some Ethiopian Food and a beer.
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Projects moving forward include the new Restaurant on the Street level of the 9 Condo 1316 9th Street, expect construction to start after the first of the year and opening by Spring. Reasonably priced neighborhood restaurant and bar.
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Traded emails with Frederick De Pue the other day, TABLE (903 N Street) should be open shortly after the first of the year, he is looking forward to cooking for us. TABLE will also be a very reasonably priced restaurant, no bar, but they will serve beer/wine/champagne with dinner (plans do include lunch and breakfast too). We will try to have a future BANCA meeting in their spaces, probably upstairs. As an aside Frederick will also be opening another new restaurant at 405 8th Street (former location of Cafe Atlantico and Mini-Bar) called "Azur." This will be a fancier place. The theme is European-style seafood. De Pue knows seafood, having cooked at the Michelin-rated Sea Grill in Brussels, among other locations. The seafood sold at the restaurant will be from sustainable purveyors: expect items like tiger prawns, oysters and crab.
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Tom Powers new place, Baby Wale is moving forward. I'm told construction will start soon with a winter opening, can't see how they can make the mid-January date mentioned below. Have also talked with him (some time ago now) of having some sort of BANCA meeting in the new place as they open. Here is an article on it I picked up online either Washingtonian or Eater:
Good news for all the material girls (and guys) out there: Chef Tom Power’s long-anticipated restaurant, Baby Wale, is aiming for a mid-January debut. The Corduroyowner checked in with us and says that while permitting and construction delays have stalled the project—planned for the building next door to Corduroy on Ninth Street, Northwest—progress should move relatively swiftly from here on out.
Plans for the casual eatery have changed several times since we first reported news of its opening. Fabric-fancying Power was originally going to call the place Velour, but Kim Cattrall ruined everything by tarnishing the name (more than a jumpsuit ever could) in the porn-star-themed flick Meet Monica Velour. The toque then moved on to the title Herringbone, until California-based Enlightened Hospitality Group—self-described operator of “numerous fabric-themed restaurants”—alerted Power of trademark infringement. Which brings us to Baby Wale. (“Wale” is the name for corduroy’s ridges; baby wale describes the smallest corduroy weave.) “Third time’s the charm,” as Powers says.
The plan is to create a relaxed, pub-style spot that serves dishes like roast chicken for two, lobster rolls, hot dogs, and pupusas. Power says the bar may be one of the longest in DC, with 50-plus seats primed for sipping cocktails, microbrews, and old-world wines. Another 100 seats are divided between the bilevel space, with an open atrium and sky lighting. Design firm Edit, the company behind recent Hilton brothers projects the Brixton and Satellite Kitchen, has been charged with realizing the interior, which will feature exposed-brick walls and dark wood as well as reproductions of old-school go-go posters.
I have to admit that I am already addicted to the every night restaurant week deal at Tom's second floor bar in Corduroy but now I have another bar in my sights!
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As you can see by the ten story tower, the new Giant project is moving full speed ahead with a projected opening of the Giant in Nov 2013 (by contract). The rest will open across 2014, hotel on the corner at 9th and O, condos and apartments along with some street level retail. Note we are talking about 1 million square feet of space, 629 apartments/condos plus the hotel, 500 car parking garage. Here is a fun time lapse clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS-JCR3hKTY.
Here is the official website for Roadside: http://www.roadsidedevelopment.com/portfolio/CityMarket_at_O or the blog at: http://citymarketato.blogspot.com/
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If you haven't been back in Naylor Court you will see the old garages are gone at 1321-1325 Naylor Court and they are in the process of digging the new basements for the three new townhouses to be known as Naylor Court Stables. Details are here: http://www.opaldc.com/naylorcourt.html.
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If you haven't noticed the famous designer Darryl Carter's new decor shop and studio is now open at 1320 9th Street. I encourage everyone to drop by, even if you aren't in the market for his design services there are things to look at and some affordable things to buy. I ran into one of his manager's the other day (I am so sorry that I can't remember this name) and he said things are going great as both a shop and a studio. It is great to have them here and to have Darryl as a neighbor.
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Last I checked Mood Lounge is looking into opening a restaurant but still operate weekend nights as a night club which we are not in love with (in fairness to them, things have been quite and peaceful of late). We would all love to see something from Tom Powers (who owns the building) go into this place but I just came up with a new idea. The street buzz is that Passenger will have to close (understandably) during the major reconstruction of the block (a Jemal owned project) between 7th, L and New York Avenue. I am not sure of the timing but they'd fit just perfect into the Mood Lounge building, wouldn't they? Mimi please think about that in your future business model!
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There is so much going on along 14th Street that I won't even start other than to mention MATCHBOX is now open at 14th and T, just below U Street, no reservations though so expect to wait. Just across the street from Matchbox I understand the new construction will include a Trader Joe's. There are also rumors of a new Harris Teeter possibly on 9th/Sherman/Florida Avenues: http://leftforledroit.com/category/development-projects/sherman-ave-florida-ave-site/
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I expect the first meeting of BANCA to be the normal 3rd Thursday which is 17 Jan. Location TBD but a theme in 2013 will be meeting when we can in the new restaurants opening along 9th Street.
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The new ANC2F will have its first meeting on 9 Jan. This is a newly constructed ANC, the borders were redrawn and there are 8 Commissioners.
Once sworn in next week, I will represent the new 2F06 which encompasses the area bounded by 9th and 10th, from P street to M, then 9th to 11th down to Mass Avenue, plus the Convention Center site (no residents on these blocks but as you know several businesses such as the Old Dominion Brewhouse). Here is the current map for 2F: http://www.ancdc.us/Ward%202%20ANC%202F%202013%20Boundaries.pdf
It will be an unusual district as it includes 3 lower rise residential blocks, then two blocks with high rise residences, a 9th and 11th Street commercial/residential strip, the new Marriot Marquis Convention Center flagship hotel and the Convention Center itself.
The new boundaries definitely split up what we have traditionally defined as the BANCA boundaries. 2F04 is John Fanning which is from 10th West to Logan Circle between N and P, 2F07 is Matt Raymond only three square blocks total from 10th to 13th and from M and N Strreet. and 2F08 to the southwest is Matt Connelly.
Leading candidates for ANC leadership include Matt Raymond as the Chair and Matt Connelly as the Vice Chair of ANC 2F which we will vote on at our first meeting 9 January 2013. Anyone who is interested in serving on the committee's please contact me as I can appoint someone to each along with vote on several at large appointees to the committees. Key are the Community Development Community and newly formed ABRA committee to deal with all the liquor license issues. There is also a public safety committee and a committee on improving the schools.
