ANC2F Liquor License Endorsements: Marriott Marquis, Number Nine

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle at its regular monthly meeting February 5 voted to endorse liquor-license-related requests from the soon-to-open Marriott Marquis Hotel (901 Massachusetts Avenue NW) and long-time neighborhood fixture Number Nine (1435 P Street).

Marriott Marquis

Marriott Marquis General Manager Dan Nadeau and Bob Knopf, senior vice president with commercial property firm Quadrangle Development Corporation, appeared before ANC2F to ask for an endorsement for liquor service in multiple locations in the Marriott, which is scheduled to open on May 1. There are plans for bars inside the hotel as well as sidewalk service and on the roof.

2011: Marriott Marquis construction begins (Wikipedia)

There will be a lobby bar, plus bars named "High Velocity" and "The Dignitary", the presenters said. They also said the hotel will have a third-party leased restaurant, which will request a liquor license separately.

ANC2F was asked to endorse standard hours of operation. This means alcohol service until 2am on Sunday - Thursday, and 3am on Fridays, Saturdays, the day before holidays, and possibly other special occasions as declared by the D.C. government. The Marriott is also seeking permission to keep its "upper-floor summer garden" open until 11pm on Sunday - Thursday, and midnight on other days, as above.

An attendee used the opportunity to say that the hotel had no plan for handling taxi traffic. The presenters said the taxi waiting area would be around the side of the property, so taxis would not block Massachusetts Avenue.

ANC2F voted 6 - 1 in favor supporting the request of the Marriott Marquis. Commissioner Greg Melcher (district 06) was the lone vote against.

The hotel will be located in Commissioner Melcher's ANC district.

Number Nine

John Guggenmos came before ANC2F to request two amendments to Number Nine's 2001 settlement agreement. One amendment would allow Number Nine to feature a solo live piano player on Friday nights between 9 and midnight. The piano player will be audible only through the bar's in-house audio system, which will be easy to adjust in case of need.

The second amendment will eliminate the prohibition against fundraisers at the bar. Guggenmos explained that, many years ago, fundraisers were an excuse for certain long-departed nightclubs to have loud late-night operations. Everyone seemed to agree this was no longer a problem.

ANC2F voted unanimously to support the request for the two amendments. In addition, ANC2F voted to give Number Nine a "stipulated license" that would temporarily allow it to have music and fundraisers until the matter was decided permanently by D.C. liquor-licensing authorities.

Both of these votes were unanimous, but Commissioner Melcher was not in the room at the time of this vote.