Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Strip Club Withdraws Application
Check out this Voice of the Hill piece on a strip club & how it WON'T be coming to H Street. So it sounds like 1335 H Street NE (Phish Tea) was the correct address. I've got to ask what the owners (both of the strip club & of Phish Tea's building) were thinking. As previously mentioned, it seems (in my opinion) virtually impossible for a strip club to locate in that building considing the zoning issues (& school, library & churches close by) & inevitable community imput on the liquor license. While I would almost have to laugh at the the strip club owner, I can't help but be more than a bit miffed at the building owner (I don't believe they would be legally barred from resisting renting to a strip club -but I could be wrong). Any thoughts?
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5 comments:
Well, that's good to hear. In retrospect, the whole thing didn't make much sense. Ron D's wanted to open in a location that already contained a restaurant whose owner said they have no plans to close. Something's got to give. Was the owner of the building doing something behind Phish Tea's back? Is Phish tea really going to close? Or did the owner of Ron D's apply to open a strip joint at a location that was simply not available? Maybe Ron D's figured that if they got approved for the spot they could buy out Phish Tea's lease. At any rate, having looked at the relevant law, the zoning issues (mandatory distances from library, church, etc) presented some very high hurdles for a strip club to open in that location. And, as Inked also pointed out, the community input on the liquor license was another VERY high hurdle. If fact, now that I'm more informed on the issues, the idea of a strip club opening at that location is pretty much DOA. So why did they float it in the first place? I've got two theories. The first is that the owner of Ron D's is not getting good advice. The second theory is that the owner of Ron D's wants to build up a track record of rejections that could possibly be used to generate sympathy/leverage for a future application down the road. It's not much of a theory, but it's all I've got this morning.
Or could things be worse for Phish Tea than they realize. If they have a lease, it will cost everyone involved a fat chunk of change to break it especially if Phish Tea doesn't want out.
How is business there? I've never walked by and seen it very full.
Phish Tea is a strange place. I found the food terrible, and the place was empty around 7pm on a Thursday when I was there. Although I have driven by it later in the evening when they have valet parking and bouncers wanding people for weapons out front. Strange.
The one time I went to Pphis Tea, before a play at the H St Theater, my girlfriend and I were the only customers, yet they were out of a couple of items on the menu. The food was only mediocre and the service was lacking.
I've been there for brunch when quite a few people were also there. I enjoyed the food when i visited.
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