Vintage Pop-Up in Mount Pleasant

A temporary vintage clothing pop-up has opened on Mount Pleasant Street. R. Bernard Estate Liquidators is operating a month-long pop up in the upstairs space at 3165 Mount Pleasant St NW. The store is open Thursdays though Sundays until December 22. I stopped in Saturday and there was a wide selection of clothing and accessories for men and women, including a ton of vintage three piece linen suits, dresses, shoes, sweaters, scarves, and vests. And ties, ties, ties. There were tons of really stylish neckties. They even have some furniture, jewelry, and handbags.

The proprietors are amazingly nice and helpful. They also know fashion, especially the history of DC fashion, if you're interested in such things. Since most if not all of the clothing comes from estate sales and mass liquidations, large swaths of clothes are from the same era, or are similar sizes. However, there's plenty to look through and the selection has potential to change every week based on new acquisitions. The hours of the pop-up are Thursday - Saturday 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sunday 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Adams Morgan Gains a Salon, Mount P Loses a Laundry

The owners of Chinatown's AsukiSQ Hair Salon are opening a new salon on Columbia Rd in Adams Morgan. Mixtec, a popular Mexican restaurant, was the last tenant of 1794 Columbia Road NW. Mixtec closed in 2014 and the space has been vacant since. The salon looks as if it will only occupy about half of the restaurant footprint. AsukiSQ is already hiring for stylists, so if you're a stylist looking to land in a new work environment, there you go.

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A gym is moving into the space formerly occupied by a laundromat in Mount Pleasant. Fit360 is currently located in the Argyle building on 17th St NW. They recently began documenting the process of converting a nearby laundromat into a new gym space. The "24HRS Laundromat" at 3058 Mount Pleasant St NW has posted signs indicating that they were closed for good and that they were moving to 3215 Mount Pleasant St NW (which is actually already home to another laundry). So, all this goes to say, Fit360 is moving to a larger, more visible space on lower Mount Pleasant Street, and the neihborhood will have to do with one less laundromat. 

Francesca's Opening in Dupont

Clothing and accessories store Francesca's is coming to Connecticut Ave NW. This is a chain I had never heard of, but they have over 600 stores across the U.S. This will be the third in DC, after stores recently opened in Union Station and Georgetown.

Francesca's is a mid-level price point women's clothing boutique-type store. They carry a lot of dresses in the $40-$50 range, but also carry accessories and home goods like cat-shaped coffee mugs, mugs printed with quotes about cats, cat spoon rests, cats watches, cat key chains, cat bottle stoppers, cat owner's manuals, cat umbrellas, cat picture frames, and of course, these cat socks.

Francesca's will be located in a 1,500 sq ft space at 1143 Connecticut Ave NW. This address was previously home to Godiva Chocolatier. The store should open for business before the end of 2015.

Hardware Store Coming to Adams Morgan

Ontario 17 (left).

Adams Morgan is getting a new hardware store as part of the new Ontario 17 project. Washington Business Journal is reporting that the owners of Logan Hardware have signed on to open a 5,000 square foot store at the new condo building. This store will occupy over half of the retail space in Ontario 17, a not-yet-finished 90 unit condo building located at 2550 17th St NW. This building replaced the storied Ontario Theatre, of which only the entrance awning remains (see photo below).

The store will be called Adams Morgan Hardware and will join 10 others from the same company, including stores in Tenleytown, Mount Vernon Triangle, and Glover Park. Look for Adams Morgan Hardware to open this fall.

Ontario 17.

Lotus Blooms Among New Retail for Adams Morgan

I can't say I've done an official count, but it feels like Adams Morgan has a lot of retail vacancies. For sure there will always be turnover in a neighborhood with so many retail storefronts, but it really does feel like there's a stagnation of sorts. But now some of the empty storefronts are starting to be filled and/or have recently changed hands, and none of the new tenants are bars or restaurants.

Alexandria's Lotus Blooms looks to open soon at 2408 18th St NW. Lotus Blooms is an adult boutique known for hosting workshops & classes. And of course it's also a retail location for all things toy, corset, garter, wand, rabbit, bullet, teddy, g string, pastie, boots, so on and so forth. All the fun stuff you usually buy online. This would be only the second location for Lotus Blooms and the first in the District. The 2408 18th St NW storefront (1,700 sq ft including basement level) was last home to the very short lived Instant Noodles and Viet Thai restaurants. 

Just blocks away, Cosmo Nail Bar recently (well... actually in February) opened in the WY18 condo building. Cosmo offers a familiar slate of mani/pedi offerings, with waxing and other spa-like services. This is one of a growing number of mani/pedi choices in Adams Morgan, Dupont, and Mount Pleasant. I assume competition is good in this field? Cosmo is located at 2200 18th St NW.

When coffee pop-up Cafe Diem --operating out of the Skynear building-- closed, I thought we had lost a neat, quirky space with really good coffee. Luckily Sweet Science appears to have filled that vacancy perfectly. Sweet Science opened quietly last month and has been brewing, by all accounts, freaking excellent coffee. I've heard a few good things about this place from people I trust about coffee. That being said, I still need to make a proper visit. Here's to better coffee in DC, a dream we've been actually realizing over the past 10 years. So awesome. Sweet Science is located at 1800 Wyoming Ave NW. 

Subway Gets a Poop Protest

Outside / inside of 3174 Mount Pleasant St NW.

For the past week or so, a nightly digital projection has graced the outer walls of 3174 Mount Pleasant Street NW. Late last year, we found out that the former Suns Discount storefront would soon be home to a Subway sandwich shop. Well, we thought it would be soon way back in November. But time is relative, I suppose.

The digital projection features a bunch of animated, anthropomorphic, floating "poop" emoji cartoons, alternating with messages such as "future home of Subway" [with "Subway"stylized like the corporate logo] and "Subway eat shit," a take on the shop's "eat fresh" advertising motto. The projection originates from another building on the other side of Mount Pleasant Street NW.

Peeking inside, you can see that the build-out continues and it's actually starting to look like a restaurant akin to Subway. I'm ambivalent about Subway. They did add a few vegan sandwiches to their menu recently, but yeah, it's still fast food. Safe, boring, fast food.

As for the protest, I'll give 4 out of 5 stars. It's simple and gets the point across in about 30 seconds. I mean, less than that actually. So, mission accomplished. Subway is so ubiquitous, it's an easy target; but this protest has a whiff of Adbusters, so I like it.

My dream Mount Pleasant restaurant is a replica of 821 Cafe in Richmond. I mean, where can you really get a quality breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same seat. Not many places. No gimmicks, no fake-fancy bs, no over-inflated DC prices, no open table, no wack cell phone apps, and no standing in line; just good food and good people. 

Reminds me, I need to visit Richmond.

If you're ever in RVA... 825 W Cary St.

Dolcezza Opening Downtown Sunday

904 Palmer Alley NW.

Dolcezza, the much loved DC gelato and coffee shop, is opening a store downtown this Sunday, April 19. The new location will be at 904 Palmer Alley NW, in the City Center development. Palmer Alley is an east/west, pedestrian-only thoroughfare between H and I Streets. The Alley runs through all three City Center buildings and is quickly filling with retail stores and restaurants. Jeweler David Yurman is set to open later this year next to Dolcezza. Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Fig & Olive are all on the way to the Alley as well.

Dolcezza will be handing out free small cones from 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM on Sunday, opening day. And yes, the sorbetto is vegan! Coffee service is pretty on point, too. Good luck Dolcezza!

David Yuman is opening next to Dolcezzza.

Massive New Bike Shop for Adams Morgan

Looking east over Columbia Rd NW

DC retailer and service shop BicycleSPACE is set to open a huge bike store in the heart of Adams Morgan. BSPACE recently announced, via their blog, that they're planning to open a 6,400 square foot store at 2424 18th Street NW. This is the very large former restaurant space between Bistro 18 and Meskerem. Restaurants Leftbank and Slaviya operated here, but after closing the space has been dormant for, maybe two years (?)

The Douglass Development brochure (PDF) for this property mostly touts the assets and demographics of the neighborhood, but does note that the property comes with a Class C liquor licence. I wonder which business --if any at all-- will get a hold of that valuable license. It's a CR, so only a restaurant can make use of it (i.e. the bike shop couldn't, for example, set up a bar in the back). That's if the developer is even still in possession of the licence.

Overall, great news for Adams Morgan. BSPACE has a good range of bikes, from ~$500 city bikes all the way up to ~$4,000 all-terrains. I do wonder about City Bikes, the shop where I purchased my last bike. It's located just blocks away, at 2501 Champlain St NW. Honestly, I think they'll be fine. The two shops seem different enough and there just aren't that many options for bike sales and service in Adams Morgan, Dupont, Columbia Heights, or Mount Pleasant. 

Good luck BicycleSPACE!

Raze Notices for Adams Morgan Storefronts

The buildings that formerly housed Payless Shoesource, Old City Cafe, and Radio Shack have been labeled with Vacant Property Notices as well as Raze Notices from the District of Columbia. The three business vacated months ago, and this strip of storefronts in Adams Morgan has four properties that were purchased in order to possibly make way for a residential building.

Image of possible residential development above 1777 Columbia via Streetsense.

However, two businesses remain on this  strip (1777-1767 Columbia Rd NW); Burger King and Pho 14. Their leases appear to be safe, as they rent from a different property owner than the soon to be razed businesses. I'm really curious to see what comes of this. Razing could mean a complete tear-down, partial tear-down, or one in which only the facade is saved, or any number of outcomes. Just expect this block to look different by year's end. A lot different. 

Heller's Bakery Closing

Long-time Mount Pleasant bakery Heller's is closing after nearly 90. Several outlets are reporting that the bakery, which has operated on the Mount Pleasant commercial strip since 1928, is closing within the week. Heller's is located at 3221 Mount Pleasant Street NW.

Here's the Washington Post write-up of the closure. Looks like you'll have a few more chances to visit, the last being this Sunday, December 28. That's not counting the possibility that the owners will open Heller's in a new spot with a new vibe -- we can hope! RIP Heller's and THANK YOU. Good luck! 

Also, someone PLEASE take that soothing blue electric Heller's sign, store it, protect it, and use it in the new store when it's ready. It's awesome!

Coming Soon: Chickpeas and Desserts

Native Foods at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Today is the opening day for Native Foods in Penn Quarter. This is the second east coast restaurant for the all vegan, fast casual food chain. The other east coast location is near Dupont Circle. Native Foods Penn Quarter is at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, adjacent to the Navy Memorial.

Rare Sweets at 963 Palmer Alley NW

RareSweets is a dessert bakery setting up shop in the City Center development downtown. The Union Kitchen member is looking to open its first stand-alone store before the end of 2014. The address will be 963 Palmer Alley NW, between 9th and 10th Sts NW; near the Kate Spade store. They'll have limited seating.

2Armadillos at 3239 14th St NW

Chickpea snack maker 2Armadillos (also affiliated with Union Kitchen) appears to be establishing a presence in Columbia Heights. What kind of presence? Unknown at this point. Their products are available in retailers across the Washington area, but it's unclear if this space --3239 14th St NW, in the Park Triangle Building-- will serve as a retail space, kitchen, or both. Bonus: all of their products are vegan. Very cool. This space was last occupied by Julia's Empanadas, which I loved.

UPDATE: 2Armadillos messaged me to say it's just office space for now.

New Residential Tower for Columbia Road?

It's looking more and more like a new residential project will rise above the 1700 block of Columbia Road NW in Adams Morgan. With the recent and abrupt closures of T-Mobile (1775 Columbia Rd NW) and Radio Shack (1767), only Burger King and Pho 14 remain of the six adjacent properties. Old City Cafe and Payless Shoesource were the other two properties, since closed.

Back in June, Washington Business Journal noted that four of the properties had been sold to a Michigan Developer, hoping to consolidate and build residential units above the first floor retail spaces. Indeed, the District government lists "1777 Bond St Equities LLC" as the owners of the 1777, 1775, 1773, and 1767 Columbia Rd addresses. (Bond St Equities lists the same home address as Beztak Properties, the Michigan property developer.) The owners of 1771 (Burger King) and 1769 (Pho 14) are listed as "Laskin Properties LLC."

When I checked with Pho 14, they were only saying so much, but it appears that Burger King will soon vacate the storefront at 1771 Columbia Rd NW, leaving Pho 14 as the only operating tenant. No word of the final fate of Pho 14, but I assume they signed a long term lease with no intentions to move anytime soon.

Surely the owners of these properties are trading on the eventual build out of The Line Hotel across the road at 1770 Euclid St NW.

Streetsense property brokers are already listing ground floor retail for the space formerly occupied by Payless. And the full brochure counts The Line Hotel as a major asset to this location. The hotel is not yet built.

An older property listing (below) contains a rendering that depicts a 65 unit residential building rising above the retail spaces. The current listing does not include this aspect.

Keep an eye on this block. It looks like big changes are coming to Adams Morgan.

via streetsense.com

Rise Bakery, T Mobile Get Signage in Adams Morgan

There are plenty of empty retail storefronts n Adams Morgan. I mean, a lot of them. But, two spaces look to to be on the way to hosting businesses sooner than later. T Mobile appears to be opening a store at 1796 Columbia Rd NW, near 18th. This space is adjacent to what used to be the Mixtec restaurant. There is currently a T Mobile cell phone store operating less than one block away at 1775 Columbia Rd NW. 

Earlier this year, we learned that Rise, a gluten free bakery, was coming to the neighborhood. They have just installed an awning, finally replacing the old "Ink'N'This" tattoo sign at 2409 18th Street NW. The bakery is close to opening, but is dealing with permit issues per their Facebook page. Good luck Rise!

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!

American Eagle, Office Tower Coming to F St NW

Frozen Yo and two souvenir shops recently closed at 10th and F Sts NW.

The corner of 10th and F Streets NW is about to change, big time. One of the few remaining remnants of the sort-of-endearing, low-rise, hodgepodge, 1980s retail architecture is about to be converted into a massive office tower by Douglas Development. Honest Abe's Souvenirs, Souvenir World, and Frozen Yo/Zombie Coffee were the last businesses to operate at the corner (1000, 1004, and 1006 F St NW respectively). They are now closed. 

The buildings will be converted into an 11 story, 92,000 square foot office building including 7,000 square feet of retail space. There will also be some underground parking on two below-grade floors. Construction will begin this year. 

The official address will be 1000 F St NW, but stores and offices will have frontage on 10th St as well, directly across from Ford's Theatre. Pittsburgh based clothing store American Eagle Outfitters is the only tenant signed so far, although I wonder if that will hold up after they recently decided to close 150 stores across the U.S. due to lagging sales. We'll see. Either way, this corner is set for a new major league retail (and office) tenant within two years.

Rendering of new 1000 F St NW office building. COURTESY OF DOUGLAS DEVELOPMENT.

Rendering of new 1000 F St NW office building. COURTESY OF DOUGLAS DEVELOPMENT.

Mount Pleasant Shop Hop is Sunday

Time for some summer fun this weekend, right in the neighborhood! Saturday, of course, is farmers' market time, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. And Sunday is the Shop Hop! This almost-annual event is organized by the Mount Pleasant Business Association. Support our local vendors and store owners as they offer all manner of discounts and sales. Noon - 5:00 pm this Sunday along Mount Pleasant St NW. From the organizers:

"Spring into Summer Mt. Pleasant Shop Hop!

On Sunday June 8, 2014 from noon – 5 pm, the Mt. Pleasant Business Association will be hosting the Spring into Summer Mt. Pleasant Shop Hop. Come stroll down historic Mt. Pleasant Street and visit Mt. Pleasant Businesses specials and free samples. Also featuring local craft vendors and live music! Mt. Pleasant Street from Park Road to Harvard Street. 

Past Tense Yoga:

·       Raffle for free classes and a 5 class pass

·       Free snacks

·       A yoga pose challenge to win free classes

Each Peach Market:

·       With Cherry Blossom Creative selling beautiful hand-made maps, posters, and greeting cards.

·       Free samples from Each Peach vendors Vigilante Coffee, 2 Armadillos, Runningbyrd Tea Company, Ahimsa Raw Almond Milk, and many others!

Craft Kombucha @ Heller's Bakery

·       Free samples of Kombucha

·       Kombucha on tap

·       New flavor feature!

Dos Gringos:

·       With Mischief Girl selling handmade jewelry and accessories

·       Free ice cream samples 

DC Self Defense Karate Association @ McCormick Paint

·       Karate demonstrations

·       Prize wheel for free karate classes

Best World

·       Free fruit samples (Watermelon, Mango, and Pineapple)

Boveda

·       Textile and jewelry sale

El West

·       Clothing sale

Old School Hardware

·       Sales and special deals on Old School Hardware products

Don Juan:

·       Free food samples, patio dining, and LIVE MUSIC!!"

"New" L'Enfant Plaza Opens

The underground retail areas in L'Enfant Plaza were previously drab at best and downright dreary (and confusing to navigate) at worst. As for the above ground retail options? Nil. But, the underground concourse just received a major face lift and the results are good! L'Enfant plaza was envisioned in the 1950s as a massive retail and office development meant to accommodate DC's post WWII population and economic growth. It was constructed over a number of years beginning in the 1960s. The hotel didn't open until  1973 and the Metro station in 1977. The underground shopping center has always been busy, but not dynamic, and appeared a bit aged before the renovations.

The new retail scheme (205,000 sq ft!) is more inviting and mostly sunlit, despite the balance being underground. The center is not 100% finished, but there is a new food court, new retail options, USPS post office, walkways to the offices above, and of course access to the WMATA Metro station. The renovated food court currently features Potbelly's, Moe's, Roti, Crumbs Bake Shop, and Five Guys, among others; mostly lunch and fast casual style dining.

The plan is to expand the food offerings (including Amsterdam Falafel, Red Robin, Phillp's Seafood) and eventually attract table service restaurants and stores which would remain open outside of 9-5 / M-F. That might be a challenge, but they're off to a good start. Good lunch options for those that work nearby and it's definitely close enough for people visiting the National Mall. FYI - Vegan food available at Moe's Southwest Grill, Roti Mediterranean, and soon, Amsterdam Falafel.

Vegan-Friendly Salon for Adams Morgan

Rachel Joyce Organic Salon recently opened in Adams Morgan. The store is located on the busy 1700 block of Columbia Rd NW at 1754, above Julia's Fashions. Rachel Joyce offers services including cut/color/styling and more. But, they caught my eye because they use cruelty-free products, which is awesome! According to their website, 100% of their products are vegan friendly and they do not use suppliers who have been involved with animal testing. Huge points in my book for those considerations. 

Rachel Joyce is open 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Mon-Fri and 8:00 am - 2:00 pm on Saturday (note: hours are listed as slightly different on the FB page). Good luck Rachel Joyce Salon!

New Retail for City Center DC

Hugo Boss, Kate Spade, Zadig & Voltaire, and Burberry will open in City Center DC.

City Center DC continues to rack up the high end retail options. Four more more stores have declared their presence with new signage in the windows of two of the newly constructed buildings.

• Zadig & Voltaire: The CEO of this French brand comes from quite a family; his father founded clothing company Lacoste. Zadig's Twittter tagline is "The original idea behind Zadig et Voltaire is to create a new luxury." That luxury comes in the form of $215 hoodies and 'is-that-skull-really-made-of-lace?' t-shirts.

• Kate Spade New York: If Kate Brosnahan Spade's life were made into a movie, she would be played by Téa Leoni, right? Uncanny resemblance. Kate Spade is mostly known for handbags, but has developed lines of clothing, shoes, and accessories for women, as well. Fun fact: They're partnering with Gap later this year to produce Spade-designed clothing for kids. Adjust your xmas lists accordingly, children.

• Hugo Boss: This popular company produces four distinctly branded lines of casual and business clothes for men, women, and children. They already operate a store in the District, in Georgetown. Not so fun fact: Hugo Boss vastly increased sales in the 1930s and 40s by doing robust business with the National Socialist Party including outfitting the SS and Hitler Youth.

• Burberry: Whenever I hear Burberry, I think of their awesome, Burberry-beige trench coats. $2,000 trench coats. I mean, the main point of this post is that I will be exclusively window shopping at all of these stores.

H&M, Lobster Shack Coming to Dupont

A trio of news pieces for Dupont:

Willie T's Lobster Shack is looking to open at 1511 Connecticut Ave NW. This space was (for a loooong time) home to Marvelous Market. That local chain has now closed all but one of its stores. However, the owners of Marvelous Market are the same owners of Willie T's Lobster Shack. No word yet on an opening date, but look for it this summer.

Boutique pet store, the Cheeky Puppy has opened its doors at 1709 Connecticut Ave NW. Cheeky Puppy opened on April 1 and bills itself as the "go-to resource for modern, design-conscious pet lovers." 

Like 14th St. for dogs... http://t.co/XI52UPfzdp New pet store @thecheekypuppy has green juice, beef bourguignon, truffle mac dog treats.
— Top Shelf (@TopShelfWBJ) April 9, 2014

This is actually more "Farragut Square" news, but very much walkable from Dupont. We learned in January that Swedish clothing retailer H&M was planning to open at 1133 Connecticut Ave NW. The 28,000 square foot space was last occupied by Filene's Basement. H&M is currently building out and hiring staff, so the opening will come sooner than later. This stretch of Connecticut Ave has quite a few other clothiers including Brooks Brothers, Gap, Rizik'z, Victoria's Secret, Men's Warehouse, Dress Barn, and Ann Taylor.