Liquor License for Celebrity Chef Cedric Maupillier at City Market at O

At its regular monthly meeting September 2, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw unanimously endorsed the request for a restaurant-category liquor license for Convival, the new restaurant by celebrity chef Cedric Maupillier. The restaurant will open at City Market at O, at the corner of 8th and O Streets NW)

City Market at O (image credit below)

Restaurateur and co-owner Saied Azali appeared before ANC6E to support the request.

Azali told ANC6E Maupillier was a long-time fixture on the DC restaurant scene, working first at Central (1001 Pennsylvania Avenue) and the now-closed Citronelle. Azali and Maupillier are currently co-owners of the highly-praised Mintwood (1813 Columbia Road). In 2013, Maupillier was nominated Best New Chef by Food and Wine Magazine and also won a James Beard Award.

Azali told the ANC that one-quarter of the area of the restaurant will be devoted to the kitchen and "the emphasis is on food", including affordable "health food" (including vegan) and "portion control". The restaurant will have an outdoor serving area.

Azali said Convival will be the first restaurant that Maupillier owns, although online information says that Maupillier co-owns Mintwood with Azali.

ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (Commissioner for district 01) said a standard settlement agreement for the area had been negotiated with the owners of Convival. This included standard stipulations for the outdoor area, i.e., that there would be no music played and outdoor service would end at midnight.

The restaurant will be Padro's ANC district.

Azali also said there would be underground parking below the nearby Giant supermarket for clients with cars, but the restaurant wish to be primarily a neighborhood place that people could walk to.

"Neighbors are the most important thing for us," Azali said.

Convival has previously been reported on by Washingtonian magazine and blog BadWolf DC.

The liquor-license request will now move on to DC's Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) for final approval.

(image credit: citymarketato.blogspot.com, image marked as "labelled for reuse" on Google Image search)

Mention You're a Shaw Resident for Discount at New Hotel

At its regular monthly meeting April 1, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw granted a stipulated liquor license to the soon-to-open 182-room Cambria Suites Hotel (899 O Street NW) located above City Market at O. The full ANC followed the recommendation of the liquor-licensing affairs committee of ANC6E to grant the stipulated license. The vote was unanimous.

And also a hotel for out-to-town visitors

As part of the presentation in support of the request for a stipulated license, attorney Stephen J. O'Brien of the law firm Mallios & O'Brien told ANC6E that Shaw residents will get a discounted rate at the new hotel if they make reservations directly by phone to the hotel after it opens on May 1. O'Brien conceded residents themselves would have little reason for a hotel room for themselves. This discount is aimed at Shaw residents who are hosting out-of-town guests and cannot adequately house them in their tiny inner-city apartments.

The discount will not be advertised on the hotel's web site.

"The community will have to know enough to ask for it," O'Brien said. If the person answering the phone at the hotel doesn't know about the discount, he added, Shaw residents seeking the discount should ask to speak to Francisco Selles, the General Manager, who would make sure the discount was applied.

There may be blackout periods, O'Brien also said.

It was admitted at the meeting that it is impossible to collect or maintain a full list of Shaw residents. So, the discount will operate on the honor system, meaning, anyone calling and claiming to be a Shaw resident would receive the discount.

The Cambria Suites Hotel would be primarily aimed at the business traveller, according to O'Brien. As a result, the operators expected most of the guests to stay between Sunday and Thursday evenings. More rooms will be available on Friday and Saturday nights which, O'Brien hoped, would compliment the needs of local residents who have out-of-town guests coming for the weekend.

The hotel's web site is accepting reservations for check in after May 14.

On-line information says the hotel project represented an investment of over $40 million and created an estimated 300 jobs in the Washington area. The majority of employees are D.C. residents, according to information presented at the meeting, and there are still "a handful of jobs" left. They can be applied for through the company web site, www.concordhotels.com.

Granting a stipulated license is one of the few actions that an ANC can take that is more than advisory in nature. On the basis of ANC6E's action, the hotel will be able to legally serve alcohol until its long-term liquor-license application makes its way through the D.C. liquor-licensing bureaucracy, assuming no other party makes an official objection.

Alcohol will be served in the hotel lobby bar, which will be one level up from the street. There will be a summer garden with alcohol service. It will close at 11pm.

ANC6E videos its meetings and puts the videos on Youtube. Watch the section of this meeting that deals with the Cambria Suites Hotel here, starting at time 11:00.

Initiative to Change O Street Traffic Pattern

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle heard a proposal last night to change the direction of O Street NW between 9th and 11th Streets. The proposal was made at ANC2F's regular monthly meeting last night (December 4).

Intersection of 10th and O Streets (Google Street View)

Paul Harrison, a resident of the 1000 block of O Street, came before ANC2F to announce the initiative of a group of concerned citizens. Harrison reported that most of the people on that block had signed a petition to D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2), requesting the change in traffic pattern.

If the change went through as request, O Street would turn one-way westbound between 10th and 11th Streets, and one way eastbound between 9th and 10th Streets. To put it another way, O Street traffic would diverge from 10th Street.

Harrison said the block had many families with young children who were concerned their street was no longer safe. O Street is currently a two-way street. Traffic had increased dramatically on it due to activity around the future site of City Market at O at the corner of O and 7th Streets. Many trucks have started using O Street as a regular route.

The proposal was supported by Sheri Kimball, constituent services director for Evans. Kimball told ANC2F she lived on the block. Of the residents of the block, only three had not signed the petition for the change, she said.

"The truck traffic down O Street is outrageous," she said.

In the ensuing discussion, it was asked why there were not signs banning trucks from the block. It turns out that there are, but the ban is not enforced.

Kimball told ANC2F that changing the traffic pattern on this stretch of O Street was just a matter of appropriate signage. It would be easy to remove the signs back again if the traffic pattern change turned out to be problematic.

"It would take about five minutes to undo," she said. "If it causes all kinds of problems, it won't be the first thing we've have to undo in this city."

ANC2F did not vote on the proposal.

ANC6E Supports Liquor License for Ivy and Coney

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw voted to support a request for a Class "C" Tavern license for Ivy and Coney (1537 7th Street NW) at its regular monthly meeting on September 4.

1537 7th Street NW

Commissioner Alexander Padro (district 01), head of the ANC6E liquor licensing affairs committee, reported the applicants have experience running liquor-serving establishments and there were no anticipated negative impacts on the peace, order, and quiet of the neighborhood.

Applicants are already the proprietors of the Kangaroo Boxing Club, a barbecue restaurant and bar in Columbia Heights.

A prospective proprietor, testifying before the committee, said the bar will be "a Midwestern themed sports bar, DC friendly". He also said the partners in the venture were exploring the possibility of opening a covered deck in the rear of the building.

Asked to explain the name, the proprietor said "ivy" stood for the ivy covering the walls at Wrigley Field in Chicago. "Coney" was for the "famous Coney Island hot dogs of Detroit" which are a favorite of one of the partners. After some laughter, a Commissioner asked if the proprietor was aware that Coney Island hot dogs came from Coney Island in New York City. The proprietor said he was aware and his business partner could never adequately explain why Detroit's favorite hot dog was named after a place in Brooklyn.

The ANC voted unanimously with one abstention to support the request.

It is now up to DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to make the final decision. According to a notice on the door of 1537 7th Street, there will be a hearing on the application on October 15.

1537 7th Street is less than a block from the soon-to-open City Market at O.

ANC6E to Giant: More Security or No Liquor License

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw told Giant Food that it must increase security when it re-opens on the site of City Market at O later this year.

ANC6E meeting in progress

Representatives of Giant Food appeared before the ANC last night (Wednesday, September 4) at ANC6E's monthly meeting, held at the Watha T. Daniel Library (1630 7th Street NW).

They asked for support for a request to regain their two liquor licenses, which were put into safekeeping when the old Giant supermarket on the same spot closed. The ANC twice voted unanimously to support the restoration of the liquor licenses, but in each case with the stipulation that Giant must provide security far in excess of that currently planned by the supermarket.

Beer and wine on shelves

One liquor license is Class B -- covering beer and wine sold in the supermarket for home consumption.

The ANC voted to support releasing the class B license from safekeeping on the condition that Giant have a minimum of three security guards on premises at all time. In their presentation to the ANC, Giant said that they planned to have one.

Commissioner Alexander Padro (district 01), head of the ANC liquor licensing affairs committee, said that one security guard for a projected 7300 square foot supermarket "doesn't seem right."

"We have concerns that you are not prepared," Padro added. 

Representatives of Giant cited the prohibitive cost of two more around-the-clock security guard. It would drastically reduce the site's projected profit margin, which is already razor-thin.

The cafe

The other license is Class D -- for a proposed Giant-run 40-50 seat cafe at the corner of 7th and O Streets.

As planned, the cafe would have two doors onto the street -- one opening onto O Street, the other opening onto Seventh. In addition, there would be a door between the cafe and the supermarket. Padro feared the possibility of grab-and-run robberies in and through the cafe.

The ANC voted to support releasing the class D license with the stipulation either that the two doors to the street would be equipped with "panic bars" and only open in case of emergency, or that there be two armed security guards, one at one of the street entrances and the other at the door between the cafe and the supermarket.

Some facts and figures about the Giant at City Market at O

The target date for re-opening is November 8th, but the opening "could slip to the end of the year," Steve O'Brien, a lawyer for Giant, told the committee.

Hiring will start in October, with a projected staff of 230. The old Giant on the same spot had 100 employees.

There will be at least 50 people on every shift.

There will be 110 parking spaces for customers.

There are 40 indoor and five outdoor cameras planned. Security footage will be saved for 180 days.

The store will be open 24/7.