This morning I received the following email from Aleks, proprietor of Veranda at 11th and P:
Hello everyone,
Finally, after months of waiting, even though winter is approaching, Veranda is approved for the Sidewalk Cafe. Today, Friday the 10th of October between the hours of 5 to 8 a Happy Hour Celebration is going to take place. We are going to have many food and drink specials as well as a outdoor grill. I, Aleks, personally invite all you folks, that have been so much support for us, to join us for this event. Please bring your friends.
Sincerely,
Aleks
Hopefully while the weather is still nice you'll get an opportunity to patronize Veranda's new patio!
Update: The 14thandYous enjoyed a lovely dinner at Veranda on Saturday evening, and while we weren't able to enjoy the newly permitted patio dining (the presence of family members prone to be uncomfortable in cooler temperatures saw to that) we can say two things: one, the patio dining is plentiful and looks great, but it's a shame the permitting only came through this month--why is it so bloody difficult to get permission to put things like tables in chairs in front of your restaurant? Veranda's been in business for a year now, surely they've proven themselves to be good neighbors by this point?
And two, we're very fortunate to have them in the neighborhood. The Mrs. and I split a fabulous roasted duck entree, which combined with the warm ambiance and friendliness of the staff served to remind us of the importance of the District fostering the growth of small businesses like Veranda. It's unfortunate that the District government's approach to small business issues--in particular allowing the unnecessary prolonging of issues like sidewalk permitting--seems to do more harm than good and makes the opening and operation of small businesses unduly burdensome.
5 comments:
Do you know if those beer prices were a temporary thing? My friends and I stopped by at 9:30 for a drink and ended up staying and getting sloshed on three dollar DogfishHeads.
Hmm, don't know. I can ask them. We were there with family and thus weren't exactly getting sloshed ourselves. ;)
I thought one reason the sidewalk permit took so long was the concrete slab they placed there - it was a tripping hazard, as it stood several inches above the sidewalk, and it also got in the way of the bus stop, especially for handicapped riders. I love Veranda and will continue to go there, but if my understanding is correct, they made their own problem, by failing to be aware of and follow the requirements for a sidewalk cafe at that site.
(Anonymous only because I can't figure out how to "choose an identity"!!) - jackspin@earthlink.net
saw this walking by the other day. great to see that the outdoor seating is finally up and running...i think the greater visibility will only help the business.
in addition, maybe we could get some of the people in bloomingdale who are so dead-set against a similar restaurant by the same owners opening in our neighborhood to check this place out and realize what we're missing!
imgoph, I couldn't agree more. Get some of your peeps over to our neck of the woods...and make sure they try the lamb shank.
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