In the the beginning...4 vacant spaces, with one business occupying a top floor. Circa early 2005.
With time a sign appears announcing the coming of a martini lounge. A placard is also visible in the window of Dr. Granville's.
Onlookers watched with curiosity as the Martini Lounge prepared to open.
It took a while, and they had to rebuild the back wall, but eventually they got there.
In the fall of 2005 the Martini Lounge began serving up cocktails and appetizers.
The Pug also kept people waiting a bit.
But it finally opened in early 2007.
Things were great, but with only the two places open right there, and dining options on the block a little slim, some weeknights were slow.
In August of 2007 Dr. Granville's opened, bringing the 1200 block of H a popular dinner spot that would not only draw crowds from the neighborhood and far beyond, but also draw the attention of national media including, among others, the New York Times, and the Food Network.
The hair place above the Pug has moved on (the Pug will claim the space eventually), so we now have three thriving businesses, each one separately owned, and with a unique style. Yet each of these places helps draw customers to the other. People come to visit one place and return to try the others. Enjoying a martini, but want something more and you can head to Dr. Granville's. Craving mussels, but your table isn't ready yet and you might grab a quick beer at the Pug. Ultimately, people want to go to places where they have options and lots of other stuff is happening nearby. I sometimes hear people say it seems like they've been told all about how the area is developing economically and all these new businesses are supposed to be opening, but it seems to be happening too slowly. I just tell them to look back a few years and they'll realize how quickly all of this has happened, and how amazing it is to watch it happen.
43 comments:
speaking of coming development any word on sticky rice? that does seem to be taking a while, definitely longer than I had hoped!
the hair place "moved on"?
or was their rent increased?
anyone know the story?
PS: went to spoiled and rotten to get my daughter a manicure.....also walked out with a hello kitty set (shirt and capri pants). very nice store, nice decor, and the owner is very personable.
well said.
i posted on the bloomingdale blog that the big bear cafe has not even been open a year yet. not too long ago, it was a very troublesome corner.
its crazy how much and how fast a business in an underinvested urban area can do.
Soul Searcher,
Tony from the Pug, who owns the building emailed me in response to your question. Tony says that he purchased the building three years ago and never raised the salon's rent, or in any way pressured the owner to relocate. He assures me that she was welcome to stay on indefinitely at the same rent. So the move appears to have been either a business, or personal decision on the part of the owner.
I moved to the corridor in late 2004 and am amazed at how far it's come since then. Things are moving in the right direction - Rome wasn't built in a day.
Honestly,
How many hair salons can one street possibly have? It never ceases to amaze me how many there are on H St.
From a business perspective, you can't have that many businesses offering the same type of service in the same area and expect all of them to survive. Theres only so many wigs out there that need bustin'!
There doesn't seem to be any rent increase here, I bet it was just plain old supply and demand.
I moved here just 9 months ago in June and am shocked at how fast things are changing. Since then H Street has added NAPA 1015, Pap and Petey's, Nuevo Fluer (misspelled I'm sure), Sova Espresso and Wine, Spoiled and Rotten, new clothing store (don't know the name), the Pug, and probably a few others. They've also announced Sticky Rice, Fitness First, Mayor Williams and Mrs Johnson, a grocery on 4th and H, Harris teeter on 1st and M, Ohio Diner under renovation, updates at Argonaut, Duck Pin bowling and mini golf bars, blues and BBQ, high end pizza place not to mention probably 5 other places I'm forgetting about!! My head is spinning!
Also, I spoke with sales people in the Senate Square apartment buildings yesterday and as of April 1st there will be 11 units occupied, most of which signed up in the past few weeks. Apparently the news of Williams and Johnson has sparked some curiousity for H Street. The Senate Square builders are also in the final stages of planning for the sister property they'll be building in my backyard on the site of the old bakery at 4th and I Street.
i saw a billboard for senate square at the intersection of new york and florida. no idea how long that'll sty up (or if it's even still there now), but that's a great visibility corridor. hope it drums up some interest. i'd like to see that placed filled to capacity so retail will come running...
fitness first? where is that going to be?
Fitness First is going to be right next door to Bikrim Yoga.
Grocery at 4th and H? Is this a locked in fact or is this speculation? Last I heard they were trying to get a grocery in there but no takers as yet.
Lately, I've seen what appear to be surveyors and bulldozers in that no man's land between Abdo development and Murry's (on the North side of H, between 3rd and 4th I believe).
Does anyone know whats going on over there?
JJ, I believe that was an allusion to the corner store/deli going in at the corner of 4th and H. Nothing is set for the retail tenant occupying the space in the 300 block of H.
Not surprised about the plants....there are always some stories about plants even being dug up from front gardens....yes, they will try and sell anything when it's neccessary.
Ah I can't begin to tell you how many soler power lights I've had to reinstall in my front yard due to theft.
I'm on my 4th set in less than 3 years.
My neighbor at 3 azaleas ripped right out of his front yard a few days after he planted them.
Needless to say, I was ready to nunchuck anybody even approaching my yard after I planted last year.
Plant during the early morning and make it look like the plants have been there for awhile (ie, put regular dirt over the new soil). Potted plants are too easy a target. Same thing goes for gnomes and lawn jockeys.
If this doesn't work buy some nunchucks...
I buy garden hoses in 6 packs.
I saw a guy trying to sell a Leyland Cypress the other day at Horace and Dickies. It was a 5' plant worth about 35-45 dollars.
Don't be afraid to say something to someone if you think they are no go or just call the police. To many times, people don't get say anthing and it crimes right under our noses.
As long as studios start in the $2000+ range, 1 bedrooms at $2800,it's going to take a long time to fill Senate Square. That's the price I was told when I toured the building.
Sorry JJ, Inked was right I was alluding to a corner deli on the other side (south) of H Street. I will say however that I've heard an interesting rumor from 2 different people lately.....
THIS IS JUST A RUMOR SO FAR... I heard that Trader Joe's may be going into the Station Place building being built-attached to the SEC building at 2nd and G Street NE. Can anyone shed any light on this?
did inked announce the Harris Teeter going in in NOMA? 50,000 square foot full service grocery store at Constitution Square below the 2000 new DOJ workers at 1st and M NE..
Yes, announced.
I've been hoping that maybe some folks that want to be in close proximity to tony williams and BET co-founder sheila crump johnson, who announced they're buying there. maybe lobbyists who see value in a pad near the u.s. capitol? perhaps some of the athletes on the teams johnson co-owns? i dunno. the economy is rough but there are some people out there making good money. wish i knew a few of them. ha-ha.
folks, i just posted, but it got deleted (likely by blogger).
send messages to trader joe's.
mention income and the desires of your neighbors.
it's down to the tipping point.
any marketers out there that know how to get this moving, outside of a web poll?
they mostly go by call ins and letters.
or direct emails.
make your argument cohesive and legitimate.
and encourage others to contact them in the same way.
this is trader joes. web polls don't cut it for them.
it's the tipping point folks, make it happen!
you can find their contact information on their website.
i bring in close to $200k and would shop their every day, even more than HT. as would some of my neighbors.
let them know that it's worth the risk.
pretend it's your own business....
why would you locate near H street?
now or never...
poo, i'm bringing in a solid $38k per year, i wouldn't think twice about grabbing some govt. cheese if i had access and i'll probably be priced out of dc in about five years. do you think tj's will want to hear from me too or will i just wind up killing the narrative?? nevermind, i think i know the answer already :-(
i know that tj food is relatively cheap, but it would be sweet if they came up with a new line for guys like me. call it "broke and it ain't no joke joe" or something like that.
anybody down to help me lobby for a kfc?? the colonel has killer specials and online coupons! much love for organic joe, trader guido, et al., but the colonel's original recipe is mmm mmm good!
i hear ya, badge wearer.
and i dig what u say.
i'm kinda hoping for another popeye's, or even a .... i dunno, one of those other fast food chains that serve chicken or fish.
they're always good.
they killed my grandfather.... so it must be a nice way to go, cuz after all, they taste SOOO GOOD!
i'm with you! just one more in the hood, and i'll be in heaven! or, likely in hell with the solid offering of cholesterol they provide, as a bonus.
maybe we can get them installed in DC schools too! that would be da BOMB, YO!
literally, HAHAHAHA!
........ loser.
no offense, mind you. i'm just calling it as i see it.
if you want that crap, go for it.
but give us long time residents a break. we want more. you'll get that shit when you go back to virginia, idaho, kentucky, or wherever. and i have a feeling you'll back to "wherever" as soon as your rent is up.
that's all.
I'm leaving for Idaho on Sunday...skiing and Boise is a pretty cool place(both at this point highly California influenced, not sure what you think of that, but as far as hip and cool, heads and tails above H street)....much more than alot of H Street...so I would leave Idaho off the list for mediocrity.
Does poo poo have any schtick at all other than "go back to Iowa / Kentucky / Idaho / wherever?" Jesus Christ, man, that's some weak, tired crap.
Oh wait, I forgot, he does have some other schtick -- mean-spirited, unjustified slanderous accusation, followed by disappearing when he gets called out on it by the folks he slanders. Still waiting for that apology to the owners of Jimmy's Tire.
I didn't delete any comments. It must have been the system, or...user error.
Most interesting thing about this blog and this thread in particular is it verifies that this neighborhood has a range of people making $200K and $38K and both participate in this blog. I find that amazing. Talk about "A Little Perspective". Won't it be even more amazing if Mayor Williams and Ms. Shelia Johnson start joining in the conversations?
If you can believe what is posted is true.
While I understand why there is always a backlash against Poo Poo, I'm not sure what the point of Sherriff's post is. Are we supposed to aspire to be downwardly mobile? As he mentioned Trader Joe's has multi price points...what is the point?
Poo Poo can you get me a job please?
I want to make 200K!
Really, you make that kind of scratch and live on Parker Street?
WHY?
I can't see how a supermarket can miraculously appear in Building 3 of Station Place, given the floor plans: http://www.700secondstreet.com/. There's also not enough room for anything other than small office/commercial in the ground floor of the building proposed to be built opposite (at least there wasn't when I went to a presentation on that about a year back.)
I think the Senate Square sales people overplay neighborhood amenities(and this is from someone who lives only a block away). A couple of years back someone there claimed to one of my neighbors that the (non-existent) HT on 4th & H was signed up and that they would be laying streetcar tracks that year....
Anon 10:37,
I agree with you and its not just the Senate Square people who do this. When I bought my house about a year ago my real estate broker told me the same bs -- ie, that HT was set to build on 4th and H and it would be a matter of months before they began operating.
On a micro-economic level, real estate agents who make these kinds of misleading statements are as much at fault for the sub-prime mess as anyone.
If your stockbroker can be sued for making misleading statements that you relied on, I don't see why real estate brokers shouldn't also be sued. These guys have gotten away with murder the past couple of years.
haha, gridskipper on the NoMa name. Always did hate the name. I agree, swamppoodle is much better.
http://gridskipper.com/368753/dcs-fake-plastic-neighborhood
Poo Poo,
Any chance you're in the real estate profession?
For the same item, Trader Joe's is generally dirt cheap.
Their equivalent of Cheerios (to my taste, identical to the real thing and much better than the Safeway brand) are $2 a box. At Safeway and Murray's, they're around twice that; even at sale at Safeway, they're usually $2.50. Blueberries are $4 for 11 oz at TJs; when they are on sale at Safeway, they are often $3 for 4 oz.
Eggs are around $1.29/dozen vs well over $2 at Safeway; if you buy 3 dozeen (two packs of 18) at Safeway, they are still around $1.75 a dozen, if I remember correctly.
Frozen chicken strips are around $3 a pound; the equivalent quality at Safeway cost much more. The chicken patties at Murray's are often cheaper, but they aren't nearly as good and you have to buy them on sale.
Large frozen pizzas (actually made in Italy!) are $4.
And so on.
Yes, they also have a lot of fancier stuff, but you can eat well at TJs on virtually any budget.
I agree about the KFC. I almost cried when the one on Pennsylvania Ave SE closed down.
When they have specials it's a pretty darn good deal, for what you get.
And I loved the ladies that worked there. They put up with tons of crap from customers, yet they still managed to be friendly and helpful.
I don't know how they did their employee training, but they did a great job.
Damn you yuppies and your upscale "Trade-Yer-Paycheck Joes"! Why would anyone but a yuppie pay 2 big ones for a box of Cheerios when you can dig a perfectly good half-eaten sandwich out of the garbage for free?
here's the point, 10:18:
poo = rich
sheriff = poor loser
got it?
No...it seems like Trader Joe's price points and products appeal to both demographics. So, sorry, I am missing the point(I don't see how KFC relates to a Trader Joe's...two different types of food establishments).
I'm not sure you have the equation right either(about who might be the poor loser):).
The Horance & Dickie chicken is much better than KFC anywat,and about the same price.
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