"Eat-In" at the Queen of Sheba

This has been going around the Shaw blogs for the past couple of days, so I thought I'd post here too, just in case anyone missed it. If you don't have dinner plans this evening, I'd strongly urge you to head out to the Queen of Sheba and show your support for the restaurant, which has been dealing with a ridiculously lengthy petition for the approval of their liquor license. The text below is copied from Kevin Chapple's ANC2CO2 blog. My wife and I are planning to go, so hopefully we'll see you there!

Eat-In at Queen of Sheba: Beer and Wine available too!
7:30pm, Tuesday, September 11
Queen of Sheba 1503 9th Street NW (at the corner of P, across from Shiloh)
September 8-12, Ethiopian Millenium and New Year

The Queen of Sheba has secured a series of special one day ABC event licences to celebrate the Ethiopian Millenium and New Year.

The Queen of Sheba restaurant has for months now been trying to get a liquor license so that their patrons can simply enjoy a drink with their meal. Even with the liquor license still pending, the Queen of Sheba has pioneered the revitalization of 9th Street amidst an over-abundance of vacant properties, and enhanced the appearance of the areas adjacent to them. In addition to their delicious Ethiopian cuisine, they have Italian and American food, and great made-to-order fruit smoothies.

Some people, many of whom do not even live in the neighborhood, seem determined to deprive our neighborhood of such amenities by keeping the Queen of Sheba from getting a liquor license. They have been dragging out the ABC Board process for months on end. All the while, the Queen of Sheba is having to continue to pay attorney fees, and are losing revenue through not having a liquor license. Sit down restaurants depend on drink sales to survive. A restaurant without a liquor license does not have much of a business.

Let's get together and show support for the Queen of Sheba, and protest the intolerable delays to the Queen of Sheba's liquor license by having an "eat-in" at the Queen of Sheba on Tuesday, September 11, at 7:30PM. All you have to do is to show up at the appointed time and have a meal with your neighbors. And, you will even be able to have a beer or glass of wine with your meal.

You can also still send letters of support or even better, show up for the next hearing. The next hearing, which should really be the final hearing, is on Thursday September 20 at 10:00AM.

UPDATE: Letters of support can be emailed to ABC board General Counsel Mr. Fred Moosally, fred.moosally_AT_dc.gov - include "Queen Of Sheba" in the subject line.