According to a comment left by Joe Englert. I'm excited.
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UPDATE
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I've gotten confirmation from the business owner.
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UPDATE
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I've gotten confirmation from the business owner.
47 comments:
love Ethiopian food, I can't wait!
Very cool. We need more stuff on this lowly side of H Street. I cannot wait until the construction is somewhat finished between 3rd and 6th. Should bring in a lot more business.
That's a massive property to use for a single restaurant, especially one of the African variety. I'll believe it when I see it...
AWESOME.
great idea and location, can't wait to try the lentils...
Awesome! Any further details that Joe can provide?
That property has had many false starts so I would not hold my breath.
With the amount of pre-opening excitement, this place should be packed night and day.
@anon 6:57 - False starts? I have lived here for 4 years and this is the first I have heard of someone doing anything at that location? This is not that Studio 400 but across the street from it.
That would be great.I am excited we need resturants on this side of H street.Please Please Pretty Please.Could you provide more information or Could you point me in the direction where I can find out more.
I think this is the false start that people are referring to:
hloungedc.com
They even finished negotiating a voluntary agreement with ANC 6C.
What happened to the Cornish/Mabry H Lounge slated for this location? They promised to open in Jan 09 and nothing's happened. There was never any discussion of an Ethiopian restaurant at that time.
I'm in the I'll believe it when I see it camp. I'm not even sure I believe it was Joe Englert posting about this in the other thread. He's got way too much credibility to drop a random thought like that without backing it up with details. I only pray he's involved at 401 H.
An ethiopian restaurant would be leaps and bounds better than that H St. Lounge idea. We need less bars and more restaurants and retail!!!
Joe Englert is a visionary and if he is involved I think he will get the immediate neighbors support. For those of you that have any doubts just ask those of us that have been around a long time. Joe in my mind gets the vast majority of credit for starting the transformation of H street. BTW I love Ethiopian food. I have heard Dukem is the best but we normally go to Zed’s.
Why you shouldn't believe everything you read, even if it comes from Joe Englert: (a) 401 H Street NE is on the District of Columbia's tax sale list, as Mabry owes $11000+...reconciling this matter will take a long, long time; (b) 401 H Street will need an expensive buildout, as it is currently configured as an office and has no kitchen facilities; and (c) 401 H Street NE has a number of complicating issues, most notably its lack of alley access for deliveries/waste management and lack of adequate fire suppression;
If someone genuinely +is+ opening an Ethiopian place, I would not be surprised if it was at 400 H Street (ripe for build out, as it is nothing but walls, a hardwood floor, and a street-accessible basement) or the old sandwich shop at 390-something H Street (which recently had some renovation activity)...
I am curious about getting details. Are we sure the address is right? An ethiopian-owned business (liquor store) is opening up at 415 H Street. 401 H Street is still being used as a counseling facility. As far as the immediate neighbors are concerned...we'll see. They are a skittish bunch after being burned by Studio 400.
As I said in the post the owner emailed me to confirm that the address was indeed correct. He isn't yet ready to answer any other questions.
I would be very happy if an Ethiopian restaurant opened up on H St. Right now, the best place I have found is Etete on 7th and U St. NW. Would love not to have to leave the neighborhood for it! Here's hoping to these rumors being true!
That is a huge property. Can Anyone recommend any good Ethiopian restaurants around Gtown area?
DCsocialite.com
Etete - Bah! Meskerem on 18th in Adam's Morgan is the best Ethiopian restaurant in the city! If this new place has lamb Zilbo as good as Meskerem's I will make daily visits.
Paul- Zed's on M St5.
I've always thought Madjet was the best. Its much cheaper than all the rest, the food is great and the clientel is pretty much all ethiopian.
I might start believing if the place had a name.
Speaking of new restaurants.... They opened a new Italian restaurant last week at the corner of 2nd & F ST NE. Has anyone eaten there? I had a chance to meet the owner & Chef, a wonderful young Italian man named Danieli (?). I didn't stop for dinner, but the food looked great - outdoor dining. Oooh, I did manage take away their homemade Gelato from the stand outside ---- ONLY $3 for 3 scoops!!! Heavenly.
have you seen their website?
http://www.toscanacateringdc.com/chef.html
They opened up a couple of weeks ago and will begin to have a more regular menu.
Great news about Toscan. That was a nice joint that used to be there, they served good food but could never quite get enough business. I don't think the construction helped them. Hopefully this new place will reap some of the fruits of that in the form of new lunch clientele.
Sorry for the off-topic post:
We had our brand-new patio furniture and grill stolen off of our back patio last night. Pretty brazen too, as we're on the corner lot right on a busy street. The porch is fenced in too, and the stuff is big so they would have had to spend some time climbing over the fence and then hauling it into a truck or something.
I'm sure people here have had similar experiences (and I'll get the obligatory "oh well that's the price of living in a transitional neighborhood" lines), but I was wondering if there were any other steps to take other than calling the police (which I have done, but won't help).
Also, I guess it couldn't hurt if any of you see your otherwise poor neighbor sporting a new grill and patio set, to give a call to the po-po.
Thanks,
-James
Perhaps urban legend, but a DC cop once told me a story of a couple who had a grill disappear and then show back up the next day with an apologetic note saying that it was a neighbor who borrowed it without asking. With the note were a pair of basketball tickets for the next weekend. They went to the game and when they returned, their house was completely looted...
I prefer random bear traps in window opening and shotguns attached to trip wires, and maybe a claymore or two.
Not on Parkers comment about the size of an "african variety " restaurant made me wonder. ethiopian place i go to are never empty. mostly the ones on u. and back in the day, more on 18th. always busy. the ones on 9th seem less busy...
but i was wondering what the largest non-chain restaurants in dc are.
any thoughts? i know cafe asia is gigantic, but i wonder about others... where has the largest seating capacity?
what about places that arent in the business district of downtown?
just curious....
anyway, i'd think ethiopian on h would be quite popular. are there any ethiopian places in NE, or even SE? i cant think of any offhand.
Joe Englert said:
Hey Reflexive, this is not scientific but here is what I believe to be the biggest restaurants and when you mean chain, I presume national chain:
1) Sequia 800 seats
2) Old Ebbit 600 plus seats
3) Cactus Cantina 500 seats plus 100 on patio
4) Lauriol Plaza 450 seats plus patio
5) America at Union Station
Then I think coming in 6-10 would be Phillips (a local chain) and Hogates, the Green Turle, Zatyina, Clyde's Chinatown and then the Capitol City Brewing Places.
Again, just my take off the cuff.
In the burbs, Austin Grill and Jaleo are quite big. And you have the huge Chinese dim sum places in Silver Spring. The biggest other than these I do not know.
As far as Ethopion food popularity, Etete on 9th is VERY popular and I think now the U Street places have eclipses 18th Street for popularity.
Joe Englert said:
Just googled top 100 grossing restaurants in the United States.
Old Ebbit does $23 million dollars a year
Mike's American Grill in Fairfax does $11 million a year, so I assume it has more than 500 seats as well.
interesting rundown. thanks joe.
i'd no idea ebbit banked so much.
so mainly american and mexican in the big seats. cool that some mid east is in there. is Zatyina really that big?
i just heard talk of a diner at 5th and h. anyone know about that?
Reflexive,
The diner talk you've been hearing is just an idea floated for a diner style bar (mostly just bar to start) at 421 H Street (Pap and Petey's is gone). Right now it's just an idea.
Is Pap and Peteys now closed
Yes,
I'm told they weren't paying rent.
Guess they didn't follow a good business model. If an establishment is trying to predominantly target a certain cross section of population (African Americans) they need to follow the excellent and effective model employed by Martini lounge or else they will soon be history. Besides the last time went there the wine glass I ordered from had smudges, finger prints and dripped with water. I knew then it was going to go downhill. Attention to details is something most establishment ignore. It can make or break things.
This space had great potential.I enjoyed the nights that offered live Jazz.Sorry to hear the news of there closing.
I am still curious how the "business owner" intends to open a restaurant on a property that at present is being sold by OTR. Maybe settlement of liens is part of the deal, but the legal madness thereafter will take at a minimum six months...and then the buildout...and then all the other mess...
I assume this place will not have a liquor license since I do see any agreement with the ANC.
Anon 4:40,
they are still early in the process. I assume you'll see them go before the ANC at some point.
www.ethiopicrestaurant.com
Applications for alcohol licenses require evidence of a real property transaction (leasing agreement, deed transfer). Not sure how Mabry can rent his place if he owes money to the District...unless of course he will leverage the first month's rent to pay his bills!
Anonymous said...
Speaking of vacant properties. Has anyone walked through the alley connecting 5th St NE and 6th St NE close to H street? The foundation is boarded up with wood that is deteriorating. There are holes in the wood and I'm sure critters are entering the house. Repeated calls to the DCRA produce no results. If this foundation caves in it will affect he attached rowhouses. The homeowner should be continously fined until he fixes the property.Does anynone know how to get results from the vacant housing authorites?
Aug 28, 2009 11:06:00 AM
That property has been vacant for a long. The owner said that they are in a battle with the city to get it fixed. Apparently alley work caused the water intrusion.
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