Studio 400
the reopening of Oasis Liquor
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UPDATE
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My bad, the Thai place is going in at 507 H Street NW. Sorry for the confusion.
UPDATE
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Thursday, July 10, 2008
New Thai Restaurant Coming to West End of H
I wasn't in attendance, but I'm told a new Thai restaurant, which I believe seeks to open in the red building at 507 H Street, was an agenda topic [ABC license]. As you know, the west end is deeply in need of more nighttime businesses [Pap and Petey's can't be the only one], so this news was very exciting. Other big topics at the meeting-
Studio 400
the reopening of Oasis Liquor
Studio 400
the reopening of Oasis Liquor
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48 comments:
Oh please just let it be true...
-644 l ST
i'll have to try this out!
Did anyone attend? Any new information on Studio 400?
Please share if you know...
JJ,
Yes, I was at the meeting. There was quite a heated debate about Studio 400. The owners said they want to run a mentoring program, but the bulk of the residents (both old and new) who spoke expressed serious concerns about the nighttime, nonmentoring activities. For instance, most of the events that have been marketed have targeted an adult audience (Grown and Sexy night, 18 to Chill/21 to Spill parties), which by definition doesn't seem to be related to mentoring kids. There was also more information given about the assualt on a local resident and a brawl that occurred outside the establishment. The neighbors that live in the 800 block of 4th street also talked about a number of drug, parking, trash and noise related issues. Apparently one elderly resident was told she couldn't park in front of her house because it was reserved for VIP club parking, and another resident described witnessing drug use by the patrons, who he then followed back to Studio 400.
Tony Richardson is putting together a town hall for members of the community solely about Studio 400 later in July. I'm sure he will publicize this meeting.
My take away is that most people support mentoring activities but have serious questions about whether that's what this business is doing.
We also learned that they don't have a number of required licenses or permits, and that the Certificate of Occupancy allows the owners to operate a "recording studio."
If they do not have the appropriate licenses and permits, why doesn't the District shut them down? Does anyone know how to start this process?
Thai food? I could weep with happiness!!! Hand me the green curry, baby!
JJ - thanks for the update...that mentoring stuff sounds like a load of garbage. And it's very troublesome that they're operating without the right licensing.
Does anyone know what connection they have to the owners of the building? Are they the owners of the building?
signed,
7th street
Excited about the possibility of a Thai Restaurant!
With that said, we need a legitimate, honest discussion thread started here (or somewhere) to further discuss this Studio 400 - otherwise the positive Thai restaurant news is about to be overshadowed with mostly negative talk regarding Studio 400. However, I do hope that writers will keep it clean when discussing 400 and not letting their (our) emotions get the best of them - if possible. Saying that, I will say that as a community we collectively need to figure out how to get this place shut down - preferably sooner than later.
Thanks.
Back to Thai food...does anyone know who's opening the restaurant?
Would any rational person describe an outfit running a "Grown and Sexy" event as being a responsible 'mentor'?
Anybody here want to volunteer their kids for this type of mentoring?
Anybody?
Anybody else wanna lay odds on this 'mentoring' program being somehow funding by the DC government?
Barracuda-
If you were there, can you please give some info on the new Thai Place.
Thank you
J ro,
I stepped out to use the restroom during this disucssion because I thought the agenda said the restuarant was coming to 507 H, NW. I'm hoping I was wrong, and that it's NE. Perhaps someone else can clarify.
After doing some research online (most notably looking through city construction permits), it appears it's NW and not NE.
Isn't 507 H Street NW outside of ANC 6C's boundary area?
Meetings/Schmeetings said:
So is the solution to this Studio 400 issue really just to keep having these town meetings about it? If they are operating without the proper certificate of occupancy (or are clearly operating outside its scope), and are becoming a haven for thugs & drugs, all we can do about it is have a meeting??? I mean, isn't this the type of stuff our local Government is supposed to be regulating?
I mean, let's say, starting tonight, I decide to open up a speakeasy at my house, be blatant about it, put up fliers, serve underage kids booze, beat up one of my neighbors and no one will stop me? I'm quite certain SOMEONE would. But who?
Maybe someone more DC politcally savvy than myself can fill in the following blank-- "for these types of issues, call __________."
"Isn't 507 H Street NW outside of ANC 6C's boundary area?"
ANC 6C's western most boundary line is the east side of 6th street. An address of 507 H Street NW would be on the corner of 5th and H St. I'll walk by the address after work and report back.
After living in this city for way toooo long...Hillman reading my mind.
Wow! I guess you're right, fourthandeye. This ANC is HUGE!!
Royal Thai Cuisine & Bar is located at 507 H St NW and was before ANC 6C for its application for a liquor license. It is within our boundaries and specifically lies within SMD 6C09.
Oops, I'll fix that.
Filling in the blank for Anon 1:54 -
"for these types of issues, call __________."
-Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells - 202-724-8072
-Councilmember At-Large Kwame Brown (Chair, Committee on Economic Development; Member, Public Works and the Environment Committe) 202-724-8174
-Councilmember Phil Mendelson (Chairman, Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary) (202) 724-8064
-If you see crime - 911
-Mayor's helpline - (e.g. trash, illegal parking, etc.) - 311
-Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration - (202) 442-4423
-Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs - (202) 442-4400
Each call helps demand accountability in this situation.
I would add Mary Cheh to this list. She is the head of the committee that oversees DCRA. DCRA is a huge problem and the fact that this group somehow got up and running without the proper licenses/whatever should be made known. As far as I'm concerned, the Council should hear about it over and over until they do something. I would also call Vincent Gray.
At some point, there needs to be accountability for these issues in other areas of the city, not just the golden gated NW.
Tommy Wells' area is child welfare and he is on that committee also(sorry I'm not good with all the titles). I would suggest that someone explain the situation with the mentoring and ask his office to find out if this group is in fact receiving money somehow for the "mentoring children".
Also, I drove by there a number of days ago and noticed signs for "Hall Rental" on the front of the building. Has anyone else seen those? Seems like this is a multi faceted enterprise.
Barracuda....I'm interested,how did 400 explain the night time activities in relationship to the mentoring?
WOW!!! This is a great way to mentor children! I was mentored as a child at the PAL Center in Wilmington Delaware, through a big brother program to include, basketball, softball, reading, etc... With that said when I would get dropped off there was NEVER spaces "reserved for VIP club parking" or anything quoted below
I think we should start a petition and get them shut down.
"Grown and Sexy night, 18 to Chill/21 to Spill parties), information given about the assualt on a local resident and a brawl that occurred outside the establishment. The neighbors that live in the 800 block of 4th street also talked about a number of drug, parking, trash and noise related issues. Apparently one elderly resident was told she couldn't park in front of her house because it was reserved for VIP club parking, and another resident described witnessing drug use by the patrons, who he then followed back to Studio 400."
Amkindc,
I don't understand how the nightclub activities relate to the mentoring ones. It sounds like they may be unrelated, at least when the nightclub events serve alcohol.
The owners did confirm that they are using the space as a catering hall and that they rent it out to third parties. They also said that (1) they want to make money and (2) they can't control what the third parties use the space for.
On the "catering hall" issue, a couple of the people at the meeting commented about the rules requiring catering halls to serve a minimum amount of food. Perhaps someone else can comment on that.
I also think that the people that "rent" the space may be related to the management. For instance, the owner of Studio 400 shares a rather distinctive name with at least one of the organizations that has sponsored a nightclub event there.
Hope that answers your question.
"They also said that (1) they want to make money and (2) they can't control what the third parties use the space for. "
I can't claim to know all the details of this particular business venture, but to suggest that you 'can't control what third parties use the space for' is pretty much utter horseshit. By definition you are in control, as it's your space, and you can stipulate in ridiculous detail what can and can't be done in your building.
If that is in fact their position, I very much doubt the legitimacy or honesty of their operation.
ExACtly...there's this thing called social host liability law...
First, the owners of any venue most certainly can control the activities of third parties and to state otherwise is unacceptable and a terrible business idea. Second, I rented a "hall" for my DC wedding. The hall did not supply nor ever serve liquor or food. Thus, we supplied our caterer, who in turn supplied the liquor. However, we very much had to obtain our very own liquor license for that night. Had to go to the office by Union Station, went before whatever Board has hearings, had to supply our police records/the halls licenses/even a rather sophisticated agenda and map of where each table would be, what our menu was. . . If I remember correctly, the fact that we had a license for that night is even publicized somewhere. Wonder if the individual/personal licenses are published for 3rd parties at Studio 400? I was very willing to give Studio 400 a chance -- in fact, a multi-use venue celebrating local music and sometimes serving booze while at the same time mentoring kids really isn't that horrible of a goal -- but I really don't understand how they're operating this way? Or why?
From what I've seen so far, I've seen no evidence of a "mentoring" program. I've seen flyers for this place make opaque references to serving alcohol on the premises, but in not one of these flyers have I seen the word "mentoring", "mentoring program", or anything coming close to what a mentoring program would be described as.
I think its rather insulting to the community that these guys think they can come in and try and pull one over by:
1.) Operating without proper licenses;
2.) Telling everyone that they are mentoring young people through operation of a "catering hall";
3.) Asserting essentially that anything that happens on their property is not their responsibility b/c they were just renting it out to third parties. Hence, if someone does drugs, beats someone else up or gets shot on the property their position is they have no responsibility. Nice.
I would like to know what licenses/
permits they operating without -- I think its important to know these details if we are going to write/call the ANC commissioners on this. Does anyone know this info? Barracuda?
Barracuda, thanks for responding to my question. Are you all working with your ANC commissioner? I would think that another "town hall" meeting to galvanize the community and act as support for the ANC might be helpful. You could make flyers with all the appropriate people to contact and then the emailing would start en masse. Keep the group together and make some noise. Certainly some answers or action is needed from the city.
JJ,
I'm not a caterer, so I don't know every permit that they must have.
I do know that the Certificate of Occupancy is for a "recording studio"--anything beyond that is unpermitted, unlicensed activity.
I also understand that they have created sidewalk parking spaces that require the cars to drive over the sidewalk--this is a violation of the public space requiremnets to create a "cut out" for parking spaces.
My understanding from the meeting is that they did not obtain any permits through DCRA for the renovations of the inside of the space, which were apparently extensive.
I assume there are health permit requirements as well. I just don't know what they are.
I found Liz's info on the liquor license point to be very intersting--it sounds like a lot of work to go through.
Hopefully some other posters with more background can help on this point.
Amkindc,
Yes, Tony is aware of the local residents' concerns. He arranged for the owners of Studio 400 to attend ANC 6C's meeting and is setting up the town hall meeting as well.
"they can't control what the third parties use the space for"
that looks like an unwillingness to take responsibility for the negative impact they know the business will have on our community. that's not very assuring at all.
i would love for there to be a well-run music mentorship program on h street. unfortunately, this seems more like a club space (ala byob at hr-57) with a mentorship program as a side activity. maybe i'm just an idealist, but i would love to see this place devoted to music mentorship 100%, minus the sanctioned alcohol and the unsanctioned drug use. if they can't do that without "third parties" promoting parties that unleash morons on the local citizenry, then i wouldn't be too sad to see the place go. end of story. so either they change their act, or we get serious about demanding accountability from dc government as voting taxpayers.
another thing. we have to keep sending the message that ne dc is no longer the wild wild west, where anything goes. the stuff people try to pull in our neck of the woods would NEVER EVER EVER fly in parts of nw dc. i'm glad we have local reps and a concerned group of citizens that keep the pressure on in this regard. there is absolutely no reason why there should be two different sets of rules, enforcement tactics, etc. between different parts of the city. if we want to live in safe neighborhoods where we can raise our children without fear (all of us, black, white, asian, latino...), we have to keep it up!
One of the posts above asked for clarifaction about the owners vs. operators of Studio 400.
-From the H St DC listserve - "For all those who are interested in Studio 400, the owner of the building is Darryl Pounds. His phone number is 202-494-1468. His email address is darryl@poundsproperties.com. He has a website, www.poundsproperties.com. Please note he is the owner of the building and not the owner of the "Studio 400" business."
More information on one of the operators can be found here -
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=172904147 - if that doesn't work, search "street grinders".
Maybe I'm still living in Kansas, but can't we just call the police and report an illegal business? It clearly seems there's plenty of evidence that they are.
-White Man
Did anyone check out the Pounds Properties website(someone posted they own 400 H). They are located at 412 H St NE. Check out the community link on the site.
Seems like there could be alot of noise made to them also. If they are as upstanding as their website claims, would they want to be associated with what is happening at 400? Wouldn't they have the communities best interests at heart?
although i know dizney from back when he ran his own studio on rhode island, i have no idea what's going on with studio 400. there are apparently several business partners that run it and i only know one: dizney (hey, it's hip-hop, everyone has psuedonyms in hip-hop). i have talked to dizney and i believe he was present at the anc meeting. my understanding from him is that he does want to do mentoring and other community outreach (during the day?) and do the traditional nightclub stuff at night.
i don't know how he has it structured, but i know him to be a sincere guy. i don't think dizney would have children around alcohol, so i'm not sure where the allegations or innuendo about mixing club promotion with the youth activities comes from, the two are separate according to dizney and i think common sense would lead one to the same conclusion (are you all alleging that studio 400 is mentoring kids at night during club hours? LOL). rock-n-roll hotel did an event for kids and no one was on here insinuating that there was something wrong with *that* alcohol serving establishment also attempting something kid-friendly during the day (or wailing "oh gosh they book a band named ____ AND they have a dance event for kids, those evil rock and roll heathens!").
i've been in dc for 15 years. i understand the cynicism. and usually i share it. lol. i can't speak for all the business partners, only dizney. i do hope he can pull it together. he seems very concerned about how the club is perceived and i hope he can figure it out. id rather have that business turn around and be well-run than close down and be vacant. i think we all agree there. like i say, i hope they can improve the place and satisfy their neighbors.
Soul Searcher?
Turn the business around? They are running an illegal business. Are you out of your mind, I would rather see a dead space rather than an illegal operation, club goers selling drugs, illegally parking cars, telling neighbors there are VIP spots, harming residents with violence...etc
By the way is Dizney his birth name?
Soul Searcher...
Last time I checked R and R Hotel was a legitimate upstanding permited run business who went down the CORRECT path to get their permits, lq licence abd COA
Soul Searcher,
I think most people agree that a legitimate mentoring facility is a very important part of a community. I've spoken with a lot of residents who wanted Studio 400 to fill that niche.
Unfortunately, they don't apppear to have their permits/licenses and have never clearly explained what they intend to use the space for. They also never went through the nightclub process that every other bar on H St has.
Finally, I never meant to suggest that alcohol was part of the mentoring process. Rather, I was noting that alcohol is (by definition) unrelated to mentoring kids and questioned how it related to the model they explained at the ANC meeting. But your post helps me understand that their intention is to have (1) a day-time mentoring facility and (2) a nightclub.
And to my knowledge R&R Hotel has never rented their space out to third parties, then claimed they had no control over those third parties as a matter of business policy.
And whoever authorized the painting over of the Michael and Janet Jackson mural needs to be smacked repeatedly in the head. I loved that mural. I know a whole bunch of people that used it as a landmark.
Soul Searcher, your support of this Studio 400, as I suspected, reveals your true colors (um, I did not say "color" - there is a difference) and quite frankly I will view everything you post here with very little confidence and much more suspicion from now on. You've shared your opinions, now I've shared mine. Studio 400 is an ilegal shame and I hope it closes down immediatly. Clearly you have the "Something is better than nothing" mentality here.
-poop
Dizney wants to do mentoring during the day and traditional nightclub stuff at night? His CO is for a "music studio". And the only thing that people are aware of that is going on there is the nightclub stuff(which by all accounts on this blog is illegal). Dizney seems clueless and not the kind of business owner that the H Street community deserves. As usual he probably doesn't even live in the neighborhood, but is going to move in and then start doing as he pleases sans licenses and permits. Enough already.
signed,
stop the music
Quick Question:
Have any of the Naysayers of Studio 400 done anything other than complain anonymously on this website? Just wondering.
I asked earlier if it was as simple as calling the police, but no one responded. So 8th and el, I agree with you. By the way, have you (8th & el) called anyone or written to Tommy Wells, or is it not that big of a deal to you? Just wondering?
9th & ef
i'm sure all these concerned citizens will get studio 400 straightened out.
sincerely,
7th and gee wiz give it a rest already
8th and El,
The reason this thread about Studio 400 started is because JJ asked if anyone could report on the ANC meeting. In my report, I detailed concerns raised by numerous residents (both long-time and new to the area) at the meeting. I know that many of residents (both those at the meeting and ones who weren't there) also have raised the issue with various DC government agencies. Finally, Operator posted a series of phone numbers for people to call to make their voices heard. So yes, I think people are doing more than just complaining on FT. That being said, Inked has created a unique forum for our community , so people are naturally inclined to share information on it.
9th and Ef,
No, I don't think you can just call the police. I think you have to reach out to the various parties listed on this thread to make your concerns heard. Unfortunately, I don't think the police know whether a club is permitted and licensed unless they work with other government agencies.
Good Thai Restaurant.
Thai Restaurants information
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