This morning's redundant post: Peregrine Espresso likely opening Wednesday

As reported over at Borderstan and U Street Girl this morning, Peregrine Espresso, the purveyors of fine coffee beverages on Capitol Hill, is set to open their new 14th Street location next week.



"Probably Wednesday," said Ryan Jensen, Peregrine's owner, at last night's "sneak peek." Jensen and his team were offering sweet snacks, wine and complimentary coffee to the crowd at the event, which turned into something of a DC blogger caffeine-infused happy hour.

Jensen indicated that the Logan Circle location was the first of two additional Peregrine locations that he was looking to open, but was coy when I pressed him about the location of Peregrine #3.



The space inside was clean and well-designed, courtesy of local design firm Aesthetic Answers. Indoor seating appeared to be on the low-end (which could make finding a place to sit down and crank out a blog post a bit challenging), and outdoor seating appeared to be a ways off, pending the receipt of a public space permit.

Tortilla Coast coming to 15th and P, and other restaurant news

Some rather significant restaurant news to pass along this morning: the team behind Capitol Hill's Tortilla Coast (and the local Cafe Deluxe chain) will be bringing the Tex-Mex-themed eatery to the former McCormick Paint space at 15th and P Streets this fall.



The image above presents a very rough depiction of what the finished restaurant will look like, with indoor seating for around 150 and an additional 60 outdoor seats along the 15th street-facing side.

There are few other details at the moment, but it is worth noting that the outdoor seating would be in private space, rather than public space, so no public space permit would be required. (Thus, any restrictions on noise/hours etc. would need to be discussed as part of the inevitable liquor license protest.)

They are gearing for a fall opening, but as with all business openings, it's best to not hold your breath waiting to order that pitcher of magaritas.

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Some other restaurant news to pass along, in brief:

The old post office building on T Street (next door to Policy) is set to become a "casual bistro" creatively called "the Post Office Bistro." You know the drill: casual fare, outdoor patio, summer garden, etc. The most striking thing about the liquor license application is a note that the total occupancy will be nearly 260 seats. No, I don't think there will be a protest at all about this one...

The new tacqueria coming to the space next door to the Black Cat, El Centro D.F., looks poised to meet its Cinco de Mayo opening date, notes U Street Girl.

And finally, also from U Street Girl, it looks like the folks over at Peregrine Espresso are gearing up for a grand opening at their new 14th Street location soon.

Restaurant update: Tacos coming soon; Touchdown and Codmother on the way

Catching up on some recent restaurant news in the 'hood, in abbreviated form:

U Street Girl (via Metrocurean) has the latest on El Centro D.F., the tacqueria opening soon next door to the Black Cat. El Centro, which is being opened by Richard Sandoval and Kaz Okochi, the team behind Masa 14, is aiming for a May 5 (get it?) opening. They plan to offer take-out tacos, a seated restaurant area, and the requisite bar/lounge space in the basement.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict mind-numbingly huge crowds for this when it opens. (And considering that plans for the space were only announced last July, getting this open within 10 months would seem to be some sort of record.)

On the other side of the Black Cat, Thaddeus Kurtz continues to be hard at work opening the casual burger and hot dog shop Standard in spite of a rough start to the proceedings. No official opening word, but the outdoor picnic tables appear to be about done, and interior work is wrapping up as well.

Across the street, caffeine purveyors Peregrine Espresso continue to work away towards a "Spring 2011" opening. (They also appear concerned over the lack of businesses along the 1700 block of 14th street.)

As we head north we arrive at the corner of 14th and U streets, where it was recently learned that Subway will be opening on the ground floor of the recently renovated building on the northeast corner of the intersection. This will be Subway's 1,345th third location within a few block radius of the 14th and U intersection. I thought only Starbucks could pull crap like that.

Headed a little further down U STreet, the street's two newest eateries--the Touchdown sports bar and the fish 'n chips shack Codmother--will be opening soon in the former Cafe Nema's space. Both Touchdown and Codmother are, according to WBJ's Missy Frederick, owned by the same team behind Bistro La Bonne, Tabaq and Soussi.

Finally, no, I don't have any word as to when the new steakhouse/lounge at 14th and U will be opening. Local 16's Ayman Ayoubi had promised a January 2011 opening, but unless you're a member of the construction crew no one's really hanging out there yet.

Peregrine Espresso Aiming for Spring Opening

Peregrine Espresso, which is set to become the latest caffeine purveyor to set up shop in Logan, is planning for an opening "sometime in the spring," according to a tweet sent today.

Yes, I know that's a vague timeframe, but in the convoluted and unpredictable world of business opening in DC, vague is frequently the only answer you can get.

Those pining for other evening coffee shop hours in the neighborhood should take heart: according to Peregrine, they're planning to maintain the same hours as their Capitol Hill location (until 9PM M-Sat, and 8PM on Sunday).

Peregrine Espresso Headed for 14th Street; Shake Shack to Dupont

Caffeine addicts, take note: you'll soon have another 14th Street option to get your fix. Capitol Hill-based Peregrine Espresso is opening up an outpost in Logan, at 1718 14th Street in the space formerly occupied by Flowers on Fourteenth (who moved a few doors down to the former Cafe Salsa location).


Peregrine has earned a rather significant following for the quality of their coffee, including from Mrs. 14thandyou's sister, who always makes certain to stop by when she is in town visiting. Peregrine joins an increasingly crowded field of upmarket caffeinated beverage purveyors along 14th Street, with the cozy Mid-City Caffe just a block away above Miss Pixies, and the soon-to-come Hilton Brothers-backed Blackbyrd Warehouse in the space next to Marvin, just north of U Street. (And, I feel compelled to mention, the good folks at Cork Market can also churn out a decent latte.)

No word on Peregrine's opening, which according to them is "months" away.

Suddenly, it feels like circa-1993 Seattle around here. Except hotter.

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Briefly in other restaurant news: in case you missed it, New York's finest urban park-based burger provider, Danny Meyer, is bringing his Madison Square Park outfit, Shake Shack, to the former Fuddrucker's location near Connecticut and 18th, just south of Dupont Circle.


Normally, this would fall a little bit outside of our purview, but since we've been known to take the occasional dig at Manhattan transplants, perhaps this will help them feel at home. Will it mimic Shake Shack's NYC location, and become DC's burger answer to Georgetown Cupcakes, which consistently features lines snaking around the block? One can only hope...