Zabver Thai Looks to Open in Mount Pleasant

3211 Mount Pleasant St NW

When Adam Express closed for good in May of 2014, I'm sure everyone wondered what would replace the small, 8 seat, mostly Korean restaurant. Adam Express served a seemingly always growing cadre of fans in Mount Pleasant over the years. Well, it looks like we have an answer to what comes next. 

Signage is finally up for Zabver Thai & Asian Cuisine restaurant. There has been work happening inside the space for a few weeks and in an interview a few months ago, the landlord of the space (3211 Mount Pleasant Street NW) indicated it could be leased to another restaurateur. The new configuration inside is not too different from Adam Express; i.e. there isn't much space for dining in. But, from what I could see, it appears to be updated quite a bit with new flooring and wall coverings.

Stay tuned for more news as it comes.

Botanica for Mount Pleasant Street

Botanica Boricua has placed a "Coming Soon" sign in the window of 3171 Mount Pleasant St NW. Melissa Beauty Salon occupies the ground level space and the basement space was most recently occupied by Lamont Video. Lamont Video was an old-school VHS and then DVD rental store that operated from 1991 until early 2014. The basement space is about 2,500 square feet. This botanica looks to be linked to an eponymous store located in Arlington on Columbia Pike. So cool!

Tonic Turns Ten

Happy 10th Tonic! Mount Pleasant's Tonic Restaurant & Bar is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. Tonic has grown from 1 to 2 floors and changed quite a bit over the years, but has remained a neighborhood staple at 3155 Mount Pleasant Street NW. Other restaurants have opened nearby, too, including Radius Pizza, Last Exit cocktail bar, and Beau Thai. Tonic is half neighborhood hang out/drinking spot and half sports bar. They also serve a full menu with a few vegetarian options.

Tonic has  been celebrating all week, and there's one last party tonight, First Friday. They will raffle off several fun items, including gift cards, Caps tickets (!), and more. Happy birthday Tonic! 

Mount Pleasant Street

Each Peach Opens in Mount Pleasant

3068 Mount Pleasant Street NW has a new tenant: Each Peach Market. The market soft-opened yesterday and replaces the last tenant, vintage clothing store Nana. Before Nana, 3068 was home to Mount Pleasant Deli (closed in 2009) and then briefly the Temporium (2011).

Each Peach is more of a specialty food market. They're sure to evolve over time, but for now they carry a small selection of fresh vegetables (corn, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, greens), bottled specialty products (pickled veggies, sauces), ready to eat prepared foods (beet salad, gazpacho), cold drinks (including some pretty innovative/unique teas), some traditional grocery items, and a lot more than I can list here. They also make and serve sandwiches and have a fair amount of house-made products on the shelf, which is a plus.

They'll have a proper grand opening in September. Each Peach is open 9:00 am - 9:00 pm. Good luck!

LIA Cafe Opening in Mt Pleasant + Ramona's Spa Relaunch

LIA Cafe will open next Friday July 19 at 3103 Mount Pleasant St NW. This is the space first identified as Sobé Café a few months ago and it has always been the home of Ramona's Salon and Day Spa. They're hosting an opening for the cafe and a relaunch of the salon and spa next Friday from 5:00PM - 8:00 PM. RSVP on their Facebook event page and here's more information from the organizers:

"Join us for the opening of LIA Cafe and the relaunching of Ramona's Salon & Day Spa!

We are excited about the soft-opening of Mount Pleasant Street's newest Cafe and the relaunching of Ramona's Spa with Minerva Mastacanu managing the spa which offers the latest and greatest treatment for the skin and body. Everyone who attends will get a 10% off next spa treatment coupon!

Also for the event, the spa is offering a special microdermabrasion treatment (an advanced skin correction system to gets rid of lines and wrinkles) for $125 (originally $150).

French & Brazilian appetizers will be served as well as wine and other beverages during the open house.

Raffle prizes will be given away during the event so come out for your chance to win:

Free European facial
30 minute body massage
manicure
pedicure
waxing
hair treatment and blow dry
lunch of choice from the cafe

This will be a great event we hope you can make it!"

Mount Pleasant Morning

Handmade Valentine Mart is February 9 at Nana

Mount Pleasant boutique clothing store Nana is hosting the Handmade Valentine Mart this weekend. Nana recently transitioned from being primarily a brick and mortar shop to operating online and through scheduled  special events. 

The 2013 Handmade Valentine Mart will be happening in the Nana space at 3068 Mount Pleasant Street NW. It's this Saturday (Feb 9) from 11AM-5PM.  Last year's event had over 15 artist selling crafts, clothes, accessories, and more. This year there will be at least a dozen artists, live music, a make-you-own Valentine spot and much more. Keep up with the new Nana ventures here and check out the Etsy store as well. 

From the organizers:

"Nana’s Handmade Valentine Mart is a mini bazaar of unique, locally-made gifts held in Mt. Pleasant in the Nana boutique space. Filled with items of all types—from printed cards to silver money clips to knitted socks (all of them handmade)—the mart will feature over a dozen Beltway artists.

 Many of the crafters will be present to chat about their wares, making the mart an unusual opportunity to meet the people who created each item. Customers will love the one-stop shop appeal, and they’re sure to find the perfect present for someone special. Don’t know what to get your honey this Valentine’s Day? Well, look no further!

This is the second Handmade Valentine Mart produced by Nana, and the one-day event features more than local artists and their goods. Live performances by local musicians are planned, and kids are encouraged to participate at the “Make Your Own Valentine” table and face painting station. Everyone can join in the festivities!

“We want to make it easy to find thoughtful, mindfully-made gifts, while enabling families and shoppers to have fun!” said Nana owner Jackie Flanagan.

Nana’s Handmade Valentine Mart will take place in the Nana space located in DC’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood: 3068 Mount Pleasant St. NW. The event is from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, February 9th, 2013."

Mount Pleasant Street Open for Business

Mount Pleasant Street NW appears mostly free from damage by storm Sandy. Many businesses are open on the commercial strip as of noon today including Flying Fish Coffee, Tex Mex Burrito, Argyle, Sportsman's Wine & Liqours, Old School Hardware, Heller's Bakery, Samber Market, Bestworld, 7-11 and more. The roadways and sidewalks on the commercial strip are also clear and passable. Time to get out of the house!

Bike & Bus Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant Street NW

After Midnight

Bestway Becoming Bestworld(?)

Strangest thing. Walking the surprisingly snow-less sidewalk yesterday, I looked up and the sign that has read "Bestway" for years, now says "Bestworld."

Sort of. The sign wasn't quite finished yesterday and there was a partial letter up there in place of the "R." Why? I really don't know. Neither did one of the employees. I'm pretty sure ownership didn't change. Haven't heard of any lawsuits. Maybe they got tired of "Bestway," and where else to go but up. BestWORLD. Enough said. I'm still shopping there. Maybe I'll feel a little better about it next time around.

Bestworld is located at 3178 Mount Pleasant Street NW.

Call Box Yarn Art

On a pretty frigid walk to a friend's house yesterday I spotted a neat sight. Hats, scarves and more were apparently knit FOR the call box characters at the intersection of Mt Pleasant Street and Park Road NW. This is awesome! My old roommate knit a scarf for me years ago, which I still use, so I appreciate getting a warm piece of handmade goodness from someone who cares.

But this tops anything I've ever owned. They're so TINY. The old fire and police call boxes were incorporated into a citywide project named Arts on Call about 5 years ago. They feature various scenes relative to DC history in each respective neighborhood. Art inspires art!

Tikal Burritos Fast No More

This closure was telegraphed for a while, but it's still a bummer, man. Months after posting 'business for sale' signs in the windows, Tikal Burritos Fast is now actually closed. A Mount Pleasant Street (3213 Mt P St NW) resident or over 5 years, the restaurant was simple and delicious. No wait staff, no alcohol, no bar, no dance floor; it was a straight up burrito joint with a limited and focused menu. I ordered a black bean burrito w/no cheese 99.9% of the time. The other .1% of the time I added spinach.

There may be exciting new plans for this space. More news to come after I do some digging around. Suffice to say it won't become another burrito place, but the new incarnation could be good news for the commercial strip. Farewell Tikal, farewell.

New Signage at Busy Intersection

Late last week the city placed two new stop signs in the intersection of Lamont and Mount Pleasant Streets NW. The new signs are in the middle of the street and add another layer of safety precaution for drivers, bikers and pedestrians who all share the busy corner.

Mount Pleasant Street carries north-south traffic at all hours, Lamont is the terminal for the 42 bus, and has H buses stop on either side of the intersection. Mount Pleasant Street is so wide at this point, maybe drivers were missing the normal (albeit HUGE) stop signs on located on the sidewalks? At any rate, the new signs are right in the middle of the street, so if there was a problem before, hopefully this goes toward fixing it.

Samber Market

Fiesta DC 2009

Add me to the voices that wouldn't mind seeing Fiesta DC actually move to Columbia Heights next year. I love the fest. I love the music. I love the food (although, there was little vegan food). I guess I love that everyone else loves the food. I love the dancing. I love the parade. I love the attention that Mount Pleasant gets. Our businesses get a little boost. And I love that everyone who comes to Fiesta DC really enjoys seeing traditional singing, dancing, eats and gets the chance to buy all manner of products emblazoned with the country flag of their choice.

But the size of this Fiesta may have outgrown the venue. When 14th Street reconstruction is complete and the paperwork is in order, there should be a real effort to move this event to a proper place. Mount Pleasant may be symbolically the best place to run the festival, but 14th Street is a great alternative that should get heavy reconsideration. Give the dancers and performers the space they deserve. Give the thousands attempting to see the parade an actual chance to see it. Yesterday's crowd was massive and I gave up on the chance to see the entire parade. This party screamed for more space. Even the rain didn't thin the crowds. I want to go again next year. Hopefully it will be a bigger and better party on 14th Street; ten blocks long and a whole 14th Street wide. Accessible by Metro and on the way to becoming the best produced and possibly largest festival in DC.

In Reversal, Fiesta DC Back in Mount Pleasant

Fiesta DC is returning to Mount Pleasant this weekend. The 38th iteration of Fiesta DC had temporarily moved to Columbia Heights, along 14th Street. But alas, it will be held exactly where it was last year, along Mount Pleasant Street NW from Park Rd to Harvard Rd/Argonne Pl. Last year's fest was just packed, with hardly any room to move among the crowds on Mount Pleasant Street during the parade. Otherwise, it was a great day with lots of food, sales and performances, much like the other lively DC street festivals. However, this one does really seem to belong to Mount Pleasant. I am one who is happy to have it back in Mount P. I would have supported it over on 14th Street as well, but all the same, I think it'll be more pleasant here, pun intended. Photos from last year's fest here.

The event will be held IN MOUNT PLEASANT, on September 27th 11:00am-7:00pm. That's this Sunday.

A map of the festival is below. Here is a link to the traffic plan (PDF); very important if you park in or drive through Mount Pleasant.

Here's a rough time line (courtesy the Fiesta DC website):
11:00 AM – 1:00PM: Welcoming and Performers on Stages
1:30 PM – 3:30PM: Parade of Nations along Mount Pleasant Street, traveling from Park Road to Argonne Pl. Folkloric and traditional dancers from Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean.
3:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Musical / Folkloric performances throughout the day.

Keeping Tabs: Another Mt P Street Vacancy and New Farmer's Market

**Another Mount Pleasant Street business is gone. The Mount Pleasant Deli closed earlier this summer. It was at the bottom of the street, at 3068 Mount Pleasant Street NW, between Mayflower and Ercilia's. I wasn't a frequent visitor, but I often saw customers inside. They served sandwiches and other prepared other hot food as well as acted as a small convenience store.

**Rockville, New York... DC? Rockville, MD just passed a fairly restrictive no-smoking ban. Previously you were not allowed to smoke outside while at Rockville city facilities like dog parks and pools. The new measure amends the current policy to include playgrounds as well. Smoking was already banned inside hotels, bars and restaurants. New York City officials are also considering a similar law, banning smoking in its city parks and on its beaches. Rockville, NYC, why not DC. Let's do it.

**The "White House Farmer's Market" was just approved. Rather the street closures upon which it was predicated were approved. The market will be less than a block from the 42 bus route on Vermont Avenue NW between H and I Streets. Every Thursday 3pm-7pm beginning this Thursday September 17th.

**A handful of conservative bloggers (and others) got punked into publishing a fake photo of the anti-Obama gatherings in DC last weekend. Somehow a photo of a previous protest on the mall was circulated and captioned as last weekend's protest. Too bad the photo was taken years ago; the National Museum of the American Indian isn't in it, as it was not yet built. Common sense people. Use common sense. Easy. Not hard. Clowns.