Restaurant Update, Thai Edition: Teakwood Headed for 14th Street

Has Logan reached saturation on Thai restaurants yet? The team from Alexandria's Galae Thai don't think so. Soon, they will be moving forward with longstanding plans to open up a new restaurant on 14th Street called Teakwood, which will be located at 1423 14th Street NW, south of Rhode Island Ave., next door to the BioScrip Pharmacy--and practically across the street from Thaitanic.

Teakwood (named after the teak trees found in southeastern Asia) will serve Thai cuisine and also house a sushi bar. Plans for the restaurant have existed for some time, but it has only been recently that plans for the space are shaping into reality. It's unclear how much of the menu will be brought over from the Alexandria location, but that location's menu can be found here. Plans currently call for the restaurant to be open seven days a week from 10a - midnight, and it will house just under 150 people.

The arrival of Teakwood continues a busy development pace along 14th Street between Thomas Circle and P Street. As noted by Borderstan earlier this week, Logan 14 Salon and Spa will be opening in August. It's arrival also poses another question: how many Thai restaurants can the neighborhood support?

As mentioned above, longtime 14th Street Thai restaurant Thaitanic is located practically across the street. Ironically, they have plans to expand to a second floor location and to add a sushi bar, although those plans are currently held up in negotiations with the ANC and ABRA, who several weeks agorejected the voluntary agreement between both parties. The VA will eventually be accepted, allowing Thaitanic to move forward with their plans--but it seems that it will be a race with Teakwood.

Meanwhile, a few blocks north, you may have noticed that the neighborhood's other Thai cuisine-serving establishment, Rice, has been closed for the past couple of days as they undergo an interior renovation. By the looks of things this evening, everything is set for a reopening tomorrow evening, replete with a "refreshed" interior.

So, no excuses for not being able to get your pad prik sod on--especially considering that you can also head up to Sala Thai on U, or Bua over at 17th and P (a personal favorite of the 14thandyous). Now...how about that bagel shop?

Back From Holiday: Around the Blogosphere

Hello everyone, and apologies for the lack of updates around here recently. Between the holiday and lots of family-related stuff, there just hasn't been a lot of time for neighborhood stuff. One of the explanations for the recent lull in posts is that Mrs. 14thandyou recently completed her graduate school coursework in elementary education. We're very proud of her, and are thankful that there are people out there like her who are willing to put up with the little brats.


With that aside, we're pleased to bring you some interesting tidbits recently from around what the beloved former senator from Alaska referred to as "the series of tubes":

Borderstan has the story on an arrest and charge in the recent stabbing death of a Silver Spring man on 9th Street. (Also, check out Borderstan's new layout--it's pretty snazzy.)

DC Metrocentric has a great shot of the building at 14th and T that is set to become furniture retailer Room and Board, from its days as an auto showroom. Model Ts for everyone!

U Street Girl has the story about a new deli coming in at a long-abandoned spot at 12th and S streets. Interestingly, the owner appears to be the former head of a DC charter school who did some time for his involvement in a computer theft ring.

D.C. Foodies discovers poutine at ChurchKey. How do the Quebecois say "My arteries have the need of the Drano?"

Should DC relax its height restriction? That is the question posed by DC Mud, who looks at the way other cities--such as Paris--have integrated tall structures into their cityscapes while maintaining their unique skylines. One neighborhood suggested as a potential future home for 40 story buildings is Chevy Chase. 'Tis a mighty shame Frank Winstead is no longer on the ANC in order to protest that one.

Flowers on Fourteenth Moving...Down the Street

Via Borderstan, longtime 14th Street purveyor of plant reproductive structures, Flowers On Fourteenth, is moving their operations down the street to the space formerly occupied by Cafe Salsa.

Cafe Salsa abruptly shut its doors a couple of weeks ago, leaving a vacancy near a corner (14th and R) due for significant revitalization in the coming years. The decision by Flowers On Fourteenth to move down the block helps ensure that at least one longtime neighborhood fixture will remain. Retail continuity along 14th Street is increasingly a concern, as longtime businesses have either closed or may soon relocate.

At the same time, a host of new businesses are set to enter the scene, as long-awaited furniture retailer Room and Board progresses towards a summer opening, and JBG gets set to begin work on their massive project between S and Swann streets.

Flowers On Fourteenth has been operating on 14th Street for years. The 14thandyous have occasionally purchased flowers from them, to mixed results--my last purchase, for Mrs. 14thandyou's birthday, resulted in the premature death of about half the flowers within a day's time. I promptly returned the bouquet, which FoF was more than happy to fix. Thus, while the PITA factor was high, we eventually got a bouquet that was quite lovely, until, that is, the 14thandyou cats turned it into salad.

Neighborhood Crime: Violent Crime Down Overall, but Gun Crimes Increase

Matt over at Borderstan has the latest crime stats from our immediate area. Overall, it's a mixed bag: there are a couple of nuggets of good information, and some bad. Some highlights:

Violent crime in May was terrible (16 violent crimes were reported, of which 14 were robberies), but that number dropped to only 4 in June. Likewise, there were 5 gun crimes reported in May, and only 1 in June.

However, for the first six months of the year, two items are up markedly: gun crime and property crime. While overall violent crime has remained virtually unchanged over the last three years, there have been 14 reported gun crime incidents through the first six months of the year, versus 6 in 2008. Property crimes are up in the neighborhood by 24% versus 2008, a significant increase.

More details and information can be found at Borderstan. Many, many thanks to Matt for taking the time to wade through all of this information.

Borderstan Walk-Around

This Thursday those living in Borderstan may be interested in an important neighborhood event. From the Borderstan blog:

What: Borderstan Night-Safety Walk Around. Join police and city government staff for a quick walk around Borderstan. The purpose is to point out dark areas that need lighting, burned out street lights, overgrown trees, etc. The goal is to improve night safety in Borderstan through better lighting and visibility.

When: This Thursday, March 19, 6 p.m. The group will leave 15th and T NW at 6 p.m. and proceed south.

Who: You, your neighbors, representatives of D.C. government agencies. This includes members of the MPD, D.C. Department of Transportation and Andrew Huff, the Outreach and Services Specialist for Ward 2.

Why: You can meet members of the police who patrol West Borderstan (PSA 208) and East Borderstan (PSA 307) as well as your neighbors… and contribute to public safety by working with officials to fix lighting- and visibility-related problems.

Where: 15th Street NW, starting at T Street and proceeding south to Rhode Island Avenue NW. Join us at 15th and T or watch for us as we make our way down 15th Street NW. Our goal is to cover/talk to residents on the 1400- and 1500-blocks of all streets between T Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW

More Information: Contact Andrew Huff at andrew.huff{at}dc{dot}gov or Borderstan at borderstan{at}gmail{dot}com.

Want Crime Information? Attend the Neighborhood Meeting This Thursday

Crime statistics and prevention seem to be of high interest on our blog and a number of other neighborhood blogs. If you want to know about issues that have occurred during the high-volume summer robbery season or you want to know about crime prevention efforts as we go into the holiday season carrying, unpacking, and giving high-value items, there is a neighborhood meeting you should attend this Thursday. Please see below for information from the Borderstan blog, a great resource addressing public safety in the Logan Circle neighborhood blocks along 15th Street:

The next Borderstan Neighbors public safety meeting is this Thursday,November 13, at 6:30 p.m. Location is the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church at the northeast corner of 15th and R Streets NW.

This is a follow up to the first Borderstan meeting on August 6. Ward2 Council Member Jack Evans and representatives of the Washington MPD will attend.

Remember that Borderstan is split between two MPD districts and twoPSAs: West Borderstan (west of 15th Street NW) is in the SecondDistrict and PSA 208; and East Borderstan (east of 15th Street NW)is in the Third District and PSA 307.

Visit Borderstan.com for more information and/or send an email toborderstan@gmail.com.