Monday, June 28, 2010
Drew Out, Smith Commons In
About a year ago I interviewed restaurantuer Andrew Agak about his plans to open Drew, an Afro-Latin fusion restaurant at 1245 H Street. As I've mentioned before, Agak later sold the building, and a new team began development of a different concept for the space. You may also recall seeing a recent photo here of a hole punched in the wall due to an automotive mishap in the Auto Zone parking lot. I also mentioned before that the only thing I knew about the new place is that it would be "a bistro." Now H Street Great Street has a little more info, and a name for the business. It's called Smith Commons, and they've apparently got Chefs with Belgian cooking experience. H Street Great reports, however, that the owners made it clear that they don't plan to compete with Granville's. Here are some photos of the space from when I toured it with Agak. Agak had planned to have lots of exposed brick, and it sounds like the new owners want a similar design. Oh, this used to be Hill's Carpet.
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11 comments:
looking good! love the rooftop deck
This looks good. Can't wait for them to open.
I am glad that Hills Carpet is defunct as they were hired by us to do a job, and left us high and drybafter the tear down. We had to find someone else to finish.
I love the deck great work,
Anybody have any idea what the name "Smith Commons" refers to, or means, or whatever?
Any historical reference to H Street? Don't think that's the owners' names.
I frankly hope someone gives Granville Moores a run for their money. I find their service poor.
I like the contrast between the wood and exposed bricks, I'm excited to see the finished building
Effie-
Agree. I really like Granville's food-- but the service leaves a lot to be desired. Actually, I find that at all the restaurants on H. I think that some of these places forget that It' Worked! You're actually sucessful and you're not the only show on H... It's time to get some servers who at least marginally care.
Granville Moore? Sticky Rice's service is BAD. Put my name on the list for a table for two on a Friday around 7:45 p.m. Was told that it was a 45 minute wait. I gave the hostess my cell number for her to call me. She called me casual-like and unapologetic THREE hours later to see if we still wanted our table!!! We took our $$ to H St Country Club. My boyfriend and I try to support H St businesses twice a week, but I refuse to do Stick Rice.
Local Newspaper Reporter,
if you're going to post something like that you need to offer some sort of documentation. You can't just throw out accusations and hide behind a pseudonym.
Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Maryland--Criminial System. State vs. Andrew Wasonga Agak. Case Number 115156C. Tracking Number 10-7015-00076-1. Embezzelment and Misappropriation of Funds, Running a Theft Scheme. The indictment has been entered into the record and the case file indicates that the defendant has fled, most likely to Kenya. It's all in the court filing.
Ok, that's proof enough for me. Wow! Here's your comment back:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Drew Out, Smith Commons In":
Agak was a scam artist who has been indicted for embezzling almost $900,000 from his employer and has subsequently fled the country to avoid prosecution. He had no restaurant experience and has left a trail of debt and deceit behind him. This change in ownership is a great thing for the neighborhood.
Signed,
Local Newspaper Reporter
Posted by Anonymous to Frozen Tropics at Aug 9, 2010 2:57:00 PM
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