Neighborhood Businesses I Like

One of the elements of city life that Mr 14th & You and I like are the locally-owned businesses. It's not that we're particularly anti-chain or anti-corporate nuts, we just like getting to know people and the advantage of having an interesting streetscape rather than strip mall homogeneity. In that vein, I have to recommend George's shoe repair on the northwest corner of 13th and U, J.C. Loftons tailoring on the north side of the 1000 block of U, and Mimosa Day Spa at Connecticut and R.

I went to George's upon the recommendation of a complete stranger who overheard me talking about my need for shoe repair. George's shop is tiny and no-frills, but he does a great job. No only are my new soles and heels holding up, he polished my shoes to near perfection despite my subjecting them to months of DC sidewalk punishment. Kindly, he didn't admonish me for the condition of my shoes either. Turn-around is fast, and George will give you advice, such as recommending heel plates to even sole wear.

Some of you may remember J.C. Lofton's from it's previous location on 14th St. The tailor shop has been relocated to the second floor of a small building on U Street. If you don't look for the sandwich board, you won't know to enter through the shoe repair shop and go upstairs. Alterations start around $15 for hemming, and the turn-around time has been about four business days whenever I've dropped clothes off. He'll custom tailor women's pants for $125 and up, depending on fabric, and he'll do women's suits for between $300 and 400. Unfortunately for you gents, men's suits run considerably higher. Most importantly, Lofton's stays open until 7 and keeps Saturday hours for those of you who can't attend to your wardrobe during work hours.

Mimosa Day spa sounded to my ear like a cheesy hair and nail salon. Yet, desperately needing someone to fix a few broken nails and ragged cuticles, I stopped in there one evening on the way home from work. I can say that they have given me the best inexpensive manicures I have ever had, and I keep going back. The polish is very carefully applied and re-checked; my skin and cuticles are always unstained no matter how dark the color. The ladies there will not allow you to smudge your polish on the way out either. After resting my hands under a heated fan, I was sprayed with a moisturizing drying spray and returned to the fan before being treated to cuticle oil a couple of minutes later. I was then helped into my coat and my purse was placed on my shoulder for me. What I really enjoy, however, is the extended hand massage complete with hot towel. You can find the somewhat hidden entrance to the second floor salon next to Secondi. Look for their shingle on the sidewalk next to the perpetually propped open door.

Speaking of neighborhood businesses, I walked by AYT at 14th and R this morning and saw a bunch of cute furniture in the window. Have I been checked out or is this a spanking new storefront?

An update on the last post: In response to commenter, lynne, I wrote a bunch about our Mac experience. If anyone wants more information, feel free to email me at 14thandyou{at}gmail{dot}com. I've now used both PCs and Macs for work and PCs and Macs at home. I'm also the world's most uptight comparison shopper if you want my notes .