Thursday, March 31, 2011

Horace & Dickie's Nixes Plans to Expand at 1200 H

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Popular fried fish and chicken shack Horace and Dickie's has abandoned plans to expand into a sit-down restaurant by taking over the adjacent storefront. The plans had called for a menu expansion as well, with Horace and Dickie's offering a greasy spoon breakfast. A wig shop most recently occupied the space at 1200 H Street. (Via HStreetDC)

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's really too bad. It sounded like a fantastic idea. I still think it's a fantastic idea.

I wonder if they decided they don't have the capital (and still think it's a good idea) or if they have the capital and decided it was a bad plan for some reason.

Anonymous said...

i'm sorry to hear this. i'm not all that into takeout, but i do like their food, and would have loved to be able to eat it there.

Wes Grooms said...

Bummer. Seems like it would have been a home run for them. Hope somehow they change their mind!

Anonymous said...

But fried foods are extremely popular these days! This makes NO sense!

tarisdaddy said...

I don't no maybe this is a good move. Why mess with a proven winner? They currently have very little over head and move people through the place like shad moving up stream in the spring in Rock Creek. Each person is dropping about 10 bucks on average and they probably move 10 customers in 15 min during peak periods, which is decent. Not to mention they have probably less than 8 staff persons for close to a 16 hour day. Tables and chairs would mean the turn over would be slower with more overhead, and the former wig shop is not that big. Plus that expanded kitchen build out etc, would be expensive and they would need more staff. I wonder how many sandwiches it would take to pay for all of that (they can count on me for two maybe there sandwiches a month).

Not to mention a whole new customer service model would have to be learned to ensure a good dining experience in order to compete with the ever increasing competition from all the new restaurants moving to the area.

I'm sure if they really committed to doing it, it could work. Probably running both places at the same time would move the crowd, so to speak. A couple of beers and some Horace and Dixies is one of my favorite indulgences, two-three visits a month as i mentioned, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this one. Maybe with a sit down place i would up it to four to five sandwiches a month plus buy their beer. Maybe the cash cow's got more to give. Well, hard telling not knowing, but, It just seems to me the current set up is less stressful and more profitable.

I wish them the best whatever they decided, and hope they can remain a fixture in the rapidly changing H Street NE /Old City I, er Atlas District. And perhaps spruce up the current set up some to make nice with the neighbors.

Think i'll stop by there tomorrow and get a sandwich, on wheat and a couple of wings.

Sunny Florida Avenue said...

I hope they never move and/or clean up. Why fudge with perfect. A plague of locusts on any neighbor who would try to make them do so.

Anonymous said...

If you lived anywhere around them on 12th or Wylie St. you would not see these people as good neighbors (trash, illegal parking, old grease smell, etc.). Several of us boycott them and I would encourage others to do the same until they learn to respect the neighborhood around them. Talk about a sense of entitlement. I'm thrilled to hear they're not expanding. It wouldn't bother me if they close.

BB said...

They don't fit into my dietary restrictions and I don't have an opinion one way or the other or know much about their neighborly behavior but I did notice that the freshly rehabilitated sidewalk scape in front of H&D's has already been ruined. New oil stains on the sidewalk from cars illegally parking and the freshly laid sod has been trampled and pitted by tire tracks. Its a shame that they and/or many of their customers don't take a bit more pride and respect for their neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

I'd be willing to bet that the majority of their customers aren't from the neighborhood so why should they be neighborly. They don't care. That's also why a neighborhood boycott wouldn't work unfortunatly. The best we can hope for is that the Health Dept. would shut them down. Good luck with that.

whoreass and dickies said...

They are a nuisance and filthy. Their customers are the rudest people. They park in the alley, block the intersection between Wylie and 12st blocking the traffic view when turning left on 12, throw trash around and are a bunch of lazy, fat good for nothing losers.

Anonymous said...

Amen. I wish they would shut down. If you can't stay away from there for your own health, please stay away for the benifit of the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

if they expanded to a sit down place, that would solve a lot of the trash issues.

Rayful Edmond said...

"A wig shop most recently occupied the space at 1200 H Street."

Any chance another a wig shop will move back in?

Crossing my fingers.