ABRA has posted notice that Tsehay Ethiopian Restaurant has applied for a liquor license at 3630 Georgia Avenue. The new restaurant will serve Ethiopian food. The application is also for use of a Summer Garden with 20 seats in addition to 42 seats inside and a total occupancy load of 62. The applicant is also requesting full hours of operation as well as an Entertainment Endorsement to provide live entertainment inside the premises and for the summer garden (read ABRA otice here).
La Morenita is located on the northeast corner of Newton and Georgia, between the Senior Wellness Center and Top Spanish
La Morenita was scheduled to go before the ABRA Board on Friday, December 1st, to address the incidents on November 13th and 19th that led to MPD closing the business down for 96-hours at the end of November. Instead, an offer in compromise (OIC) was negotiated and presented to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) by the Assistant Attorney General at the summary suspension proceeding. The proposed OIC, which the ABRA Board has the discretion to accept or reject can be read here.
In addition to the suspension served, the offer in compromise consists of the following terms:
Joselyn Restaurant, at 3303 Georgia Avenue.
The new Joselyn Restaurant, Bar & Lounge at 3303 Georgia Avenue recently applied for a liquor license and placards are currently posted. According to the placard, the restaurant serves Italian and Latin cuisine. The application also includes an entertainment endorsement to accommodate Latin dance lessons. The hours of operation for live entertainment will be 6 pm to 1 am, Sunday through Saturday.
While the ABRA application is new, Joselyn has been open for a little while. It is located between the Post Office and the former Mothership on Georgia Avenue.
3124 Georgia Avenue, NW, where Hush Lounge is hoping to locate.
On Friday, May 29, I learned that Hush Lounge’s Liquor License application had been denied by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. We first learned of Hush’s intentions to move into 3124 Georgia Avenue back in November 2014. During that time, I introduced a protest that was unanimously supported by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A as the business sounded like a club more so than a tavern as it listed an entertainment endorsement, cover charge, and dancing. This seemed like a prudent course of action that would also allow Rashida Brown, the Commissioner-elect for Single Member District 1A10 to take office and work with her community to address concerns.
As it turns out, the precaution turned out to be well worthwhile as there were several serious problems with the application, and another local business associated with the applicant had known problems including operating with an expired license and disorderly patrons. However, in reading the full Board Order denying Hush’s applicaiton, the problems go deeper than this.
The introduction of the Board Order reads:
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (Board) hereby denies the Application for a New Retailer’s Class CT License filed by Anyado Hospitality Group, LLC, tla Hush Restaurant & Lounge, (hereinafter “Applicant” or “Hush”) for the following reasons: First, Mr. Nwaeze is unfit for licensure under District of Columbia (D.C.) Official Code § 25-301, because, as the owner of Taste, he illegally transferred the license to a new owner in violation of §§ 25-301(a)(5) and 25-405, and filed a false renewal application in violation of § 25-401(c). Second, the Board finds the Application inappropriate under D.C. Official Code § 25-313, because Mr. Nwaeze’s actions as the owner of Taste demonstrate that he cannot properly superintend a licensed establishment. Therefore, the Application is denied.
While the liquor license was denied, the Anyado Group is still under a lease agreement at 3124 Georgia Avenue. It is too early to know what, if anything, that may mean. None-the-less, the 11 hour protest hearing that resulted in the Board Order was epic, with Commissioner Rashida Brown representing the community and ANC 1A. She did a stellar job on this protest and is to be commended for her hard work and dedication.
(Petworth Liquors, at 3210 Georgia)
Knowing that residents have had concerns about Petworth Liquors in the past, I thought people would like to know that the license is currently up for renewal. The notice that will be posted today is below:
3124 Georgia Avenue, NW.
Here’s a new liquor license application that I was alerted to late yesterday afternoon — a Tavern license (Class “C”) for 3124 Georgia Avenue. The applicant is Anyado Hospitality Group, LLC dba Hush Restaurant & Lounge. The placards will go up on the building on Friday according to the official notice.
While Georgia Avenue has a number of successful businesses operating on a tavern license — including DC Reynolds and Looking Glass Lounge — in reading the notice, Hush Restaurant sounds more like a nightclub. The brief description on the nature of the business lists “Tavern specializing in intercontinental food with seating capacity of 250 and total occupancy of 350. Summer garden with 100 seats. Entertainment endorsement to include cover charge and dancing.”
Due to this, ANC 1A voted unanimously to oppose this ABRA application until we’ve had enough time to engaged both the business owner and the community to better understand how this business will impact the community. It is also an opportunity to enter into a Settlement Agreement should that the be correct path forward.
A copy of the public notice is below.’
The former MaMa’s Southern Cuisine at 3118 Georgia Avenue.
The former MaMa’s Southern Cuisine space is in the process of becoming a new business that will offer coffee, small plates, and ping pong. According to an ABRA Notice of Public Hearing notice that was issued on February 28th, Colony Club, LLC, has applied for a Class “C” Tavern license for 3118 Georgia Avenue. In addition to the aforementioned focus of the business, the application also lists that there will be a Summer Garden, alcoholic beverages, and entertainment from DJs and musicians.
The applicants hours of operation from their application are listed below:
(The full ABRA notice is available here)
Sweet Mango, at 3701 New Hampshire Ave.
Here’s an update to the post last week about Sweet Mango applying for an entertainment endorsement. In reviewing the corrected notice of public hearing (below), it appears that the application will contain dancing and a cover charge.
The original notice of public hearing stated “No dancing or cover charge.” As I stated last week, I’ll keep my ears open for additional details on this application.
Sweet Mango Cafe, located at 3701 New Hampshire Ave. NW.
I’ve just learned that Sweet Mango Cafe, located at 3701 New Hampshire Avenue (at Georgia & Rock Creek Church Rd.) has applied for an entertainment endorsement. In reviewing the letter (below) I also noted that dancing and a cover charge will not be permitted as part of this application. (A corrected application issued the following week includes dancing and cover charge).
According to the Notice of Public Hearing, placards should be going up at Sweet Mango on Friday, January 24th, the date for petitions is March 10th, and a hearing date has been scheduled for March 24th.
I don’t yet know any more details about this application, but suspect this will be a topic at an upcoming ANC 4C meeting, so will keep an eye out.
Petworth Liquor, currently located at 3210 Georgia.
As news of Petworth Liquors desire to transfer their license from 3210 to 3213 Georgia Avenue has trickled through the neighborhood, there has been an overwhelming reaction in opposition to this move. So, I thought I’d updated everyone on where things stand on this issue since my post on June 24th.
To start with, ABRA reposted the Notice of Public Hearing with hours that match Petworth Liquors’ current hours of operation per their Settlement Agreement. This also alters the dates for protest and hearings to the following:
Because ANC 1A does not meet in August, they will be considering a Protest at their July 10th meeting. The Protest would be of the substantial change to the License, which in this case would be the transfer of the license to 3213 Georgia. To help facilitate community input on this issue, ANC 1A09 Commissioner Bobby Holmes has set up a survey where residents can state their position and leave comments on this issue (Click here to access the survey).
The next meeting of the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force will also focus on Petworth Liquors. The meeting will be held on Monday, July 8th, at 7:00 p.m. at the ECAC, 733 Euclid St. NW. The owner of Petworth Liquors will be attending the meeting as part of the community discussion on the proposed move of Petworth Liquor to 3213 Georgia Avenue.
Lastly, in an attempt to be as informed on the businesses history as possible, I asked ABRA for their Investigative History on Petworth Liquors. I’m supplying it below (click on link for reports, the May 2013 report was not yet available).
Because Petworth Liquors’ Settlement Agreement dates to 2009, I was primarily interested in violations after that date. Even without having the case report from May 2013, I don’t think it is needed to get an accurate picture of how the business operates … but I was able to find out that the May violation (13-CMP-00221) for Petworth Liquors contains charges relating to an after-hour violation and public intoxication near the storefront.
Based on ABRA’s Investigate History, as well as residents’ concerns regarding public safety and crime, I find the request to transfer the license to the east side of Georgia Avenue — especially a site in close proximity to residential households — to be unsupportable if the business operates in the future the way it has in the past.
I hope residents will take the time to complete the survey Commissioner Holmes set up. I also hope they will attend either the July 8th meeting on Euclid Street or the July 10th ANC 1A meeting at Harriet Tubman so that they can publicly voice their positions on this position prior to the ANC vote.
"The territory comprising Park View extends from Gresham Street north to Rock Creek Church Road, and from Georgia Avenue to the Soldiers' Home grounds, including the triangle bounded by Park Road, Georgia Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue" (from Directory and History of Park View, 1921.)
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Park View, D.C. 