Dangerously Delicious Pies decorated for the holidays in late 2017
The pie shop's petition is brief and doesn't give a lot of context for what is actually happening. Here's the petition statement:
A tale as old as time: We, an established DC small business, literally a mom and pop business run by a husband and wife team for over 9 years in the H st corridor, are being challenged by a neighbor who moved in just 1 year ago. We are humbly asking for the support of the community we live to serve and have loved to be a part of over the past decade. Thank you so much for your continued support.
Dangerously Delicious Pies hosts indoor concerts in their second floor performance space known as Pie Shop, and they also have a rooftop deck. So people online naturally (and correctly) assumed this challenge to be related to a noise concern. In response to questions on Twitter the pie shop tweeted the following clarification.
In the interest of better understanding the matter I asked Jay Williams, Co-Chair of ANC 6A’s ABL Committee for a statement. I want to make it clear that Jay is not currently an ANC 6A commissioner, although he did previously hold the 6A05 seat (years ago), so he's not speaking on behalf of the ANC. Here's what Jay told me.
As part of Dangerously Delicious Pies’ renewal process, a neighbor raised concerns regarding noise levels from bands performing on the second floor of the pie shop reaching the second floor of his residence directly across the alley. At the meeting where this was discussed, a representative of the pie shop agreed to discuss and consider reasonable noise mitigation measures to help alleviate these concerns. The ANC then filed its protest to protect its interests and continue the negotiations. The ANC is not requesting that the pie shop’s license be revoked, and is not asking that the pie shop stop having musical performances. Should the parties fail to come to an agreement about noise mitigation, the ANC will ask the board to impose some form of noise mitigation as part of the pie shop’s license.
I am hopeful that the parties are able to come to an amicable agreement without expending too much money or creating too much heartache in the process. Hopefully this can happen before they have to go through the actual protest hearing.
I wanted to add a couple of bits of information to help everyone more fully understand the situation.
The nightlife blog Barred in DC (he's also very active on Twitter) explains a bit more about the history of Dangerously Delicious Pies' second floor Pie Shop performance space and also what a protest like this can mean and how it works generally.
Sometime after I published my post yesterday the ANC 6A website was updated with the minutes from the April 17 ABL Committee meeting. In the minutes we can see the neighbor lay out his concerns. They generally involve the rear wall and door of the second floor performance space. He says it's sliding doors that "are periodically left open by customers." A DDP owner says this is not the case. That there are "not sliding doors, but a single door with an automatic closer mechanism" and the door is not propped open by customers or anyone else. DDP has also "imposed a curfew for all bands of 11:00 pm on weeknights and 12:00 am on weekends." It continues along these lines for a while with each disagreeing about whether there is or is not actually a valid noise concern. DDP offers that "ABRA investigators have come out frequently to investigate noise complaints and have not found any infractions." The parties then discuss various options that could mitigate any noise that may be escaping. The main takeaways are that the pie shop owners are working with limited funds (but open to exploring feasible solutions), say they haven't heard complaints from other neighbors, and don't believe there's actually a noise problem while the neighbor says the music disturbs him inside his home (especially on the second floor).
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UPDATE
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I wanted to add a couple of bits of information to help everyone more fully understand the situation.
The nightlife blog Barred in DC (he's also very active on Twitter) explains a bit more about the history of Dangerously Delicious Pies' second floor Pie Shop performance space and also what a protest like this can mean and how it works generally.
Sometime after I published my post yesterday the ANC 6A website was updated with the minutes from the April 17 ABL Committee meeting. In the minutes we can see the neighbor lay out his concerns. They generally involve the rear wall and door of the second floor performance space. He says it's sliding doors that "are periodically left open by customers." A DDP owner says this is not the case. That there are "not sliding doors, but a single door with an automatic closer mechanism" and the door is not propped open by customers or anyone else. DDP has also "imposed a curfew for all bands of 11:00 pm on weeknights and 12:00 am on weekends." It continues along these lines for a while with each disagreeing about whether there is or is not actually a valid noise concern. DDP offers that "ABRA investigators have come out frequently to investigate noise complaints and have not found any infractions." The parties then discuss various options that could mitigate any noise that may be escaping. The main takeaways are that the pie shop owners are working with limited funds (but open to exploring feasible solutions), say they haven't heard complaints from other neighbors, and don't believe there's actually a noise problem while the neighbor says the music disturbs him inside his home (especially on the second floor).
12 comments:
It's my understanding the second-floor bar is less than a year old. "Mom and pop" haven't been blaring music at this resident for 9 years. Dangerously Delicious Pies should go back t being a pie shop and a good neighbor.
Maybe, Pie Shop could switch to the "Silent Dance Party" mode...
The proposed compromise was that Dangerously Delicious Pies was asked to put up heavy velvet curtains on the back glass wall of their building to help mitigate the noise coming from performances. This response by them seems like a huge overreaction.
DD Pies put out on purpose a very misleading petition with false facts and untrue accusations, pretending with loud words that someone is harassing their shop, when in reality this has nothing to do with the shop. this is about the brand new concert venue on the second floor.
all the neighbor(s) want is to have a simple velvet curtain installed by the back doors and to make sure the back patio doors stay closed, so that the new concert noise stays inside, according to their own DD Pies settlement agreement.
It is cost effective, simple and straight forward, given the fact that exactly the same neighbor(s) were the ones who supported the new extension and music venue at the ANC meetings last year. Please check facts!
"Steve" you may as well publish under your real name since everyone already knows who you are. Soon everyone else will too.
Yeah, I am getting a really good idea just who one of the anonymous contributors is, and also it's pretty much confirming the pie shop's version of events.
Neighbors or not, I don't appreciate a private business trying to get people to speak to the government on their behalf based on a vaguely worded (and pretty misleading) take on the issue. They may have been there for 9 years, but the stage has been there about the same time as problematic neighbor...who paid a million bucks for a house in the "exciting H Street Corridor" that is suddenly a little too close to an outdoor stage. We've all got skin in the game here.
There's literally no reason why the two sides can't come to a compromise without blowing up twitter and getting the rest of us involved. I'm looking at you STEVE, and PIE PEOPLE.
Who moves to 13 & H and expects quiet?
So I read the ANC minutes - and essentially what happened is:
- Pie People added a deck recently which included structural changes - where there once was a wall - there is now a full floor to ceiling set of glass windows and sliding doors.
- so the neighbors pre-date the deck.
- Music from the bands (inside) goes through the glass windows (and the doors are sometimes open) so it hits the neighbors house on the second floor.
- Neighbor asked the ANC to recommend solutions.
- ANC asked Pie People to put up velvet curtains which they can close across the glass windows and doors during performances and then open them when the music stops. They also suggested that Pie People buy plants and other noise muffling items for the outdoor deck.
- Pie People said they "don't have funds" to do this. So they did not like the solution because they are cheap.... (hope the money is going instead for the ingredients in their pies)...
So instead of working out a reasonable settlement - Pie People launched this petition...
I don't know why they would not compromise and spend a few hundred dollars on curtains.. their legal fees if they fight the ABRA ruling will be much higher than the fees... why be cheap in the short term.. and "mean" to your neighbors.. don't you want to have good relations? Put up the curtains and buy some plants...
BTW - Pie People also got into a bitter zoning dispute with the owner of the former Shamrock building... its in the BZA minutes.. they seem to enjoy fighting below the belt... the flex office space people wanted to make changes to add co-working spaces and Pies objected for some unknown reason... (as all the changes were interior)...
On Twitter today, @hgil:
ABRA substantial change app for Dangerously Delicious Pies (1339 H St NE; ANC 6A); requests later hours.
3:19pm,
Here's the info on the change (which is indeed a newly filed request).
CURRENT HOURS OF OPERATION AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES,
SERVICE AND CONSUMPTION (SUMMER GARDEN)
Sunday through Thursday 8am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 8am to 12am.
PROPOSED HOURS OF OPERATION AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES,
SERVICE AND CONSUMPTION (SUMMER GARDEN)
Sunday through Thursday 8am to 12am, Friday and Saturday 8am to 2am.
Just FYI, back in Nov. of 2018 DDP had discussed with ANC 6A a future intent to apply for expanded hours for its summer garden. The negotiated Settlement Agreement already reflects the change in hours. Jay Williams, the Co-Chair of ANC 6A's ABL Committee recently wrote a letter to the ABC Board on behalf of ANC 6A indicating the above and stating that ANC 6A therefore "supports a stipulated license for this change in hours during the placarding period." The letter is dated May 14, 2019, and the application for the new hours was placarded May 17, 2019. Here's the text of that letter:
Re: ABRA-087422 (Dangerously Delicious DC, LCC t/a Dangerously Delicious DC), 1339 H
Street NE
Dear Mr. Anderson,
Please be advised that at the November 8, 2018 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 6A, with a quorum present, the Commission voted (7-0) to approve a
Settlement Agreement amendment with Dangerously Delicious DC, LLC, t/a Dangerously
Delicious DC, ABRA # 087422, per the parties’ prior agreement to revisit the
establishment’s request for later hours on its summer garden. This vote took place at the
ANC’s regular and publicly announced meeting.1
We became aware that the changes to the hours reflected in that SA amendment are being
placarded on May 17, 2019. Because the establishment’s request for extended hours was
part of a negotiated SA amendment that the ANC has already approved, the ANC hereby
supports a stipulated license for this change in hours during the placarding period.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at 202-
906-0657 or WilliamsANC6A05@gmail.com.
On behalf of the Commission
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