Restaurant Update: Bar Pilar to expand; Protest continues against Jeff Black establishment; Italian Shirt Laundry "on hold"

I hope everyone had a good (and warm) weekend. While we await the coming White Death, I wanted to pass along a few restaurant-related tidbits from our neighborhood.

As has been reported on We Love DC and elsewhere, Bar Pilar will soon be expanding into a second floor space currently housing Raven Arts. (Raven Arts artist Regina Miele will be involved in a 14th Street gallery opening later this spring, so never fear.) Renderings of what Bar Pilar's space will look like, replete with characters from The Sims: Affluent Urban Neighborhood, can be found on We Love DC and Brightest Young Things.

And speaking of BYT, they unquestionably receive the award for Most Breathless Announcement of Bar Pilar's Expansion, with their headline "How Excited Are You For the Bar Pilar Expansion?" (To borrow a quote from Mike Birbiglia: "Um, like THIS much.")

* * * * *

A couple of blocks south on 14th Street, restaurateur Jeff Black's plans to open a new restaurant and bar (called, respectively, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and BlackJack) at 1612 14th Street continues to face hurdles from both ANC2F and a group of citizen protesters.

As TBD reports, Black, who purchased the former 100% Mexico building for over $2.4 million last month, has made a few concessions to the protesters, including the abandonment of a proposed outdoor smoking deck in the back of the restaurant and an agreement to abide by operating hours until 1 AM during the week and 2 AM on weekends. But certain sticking points remain, such as a request from ANC2F chairman Charles Reed that Black promise not to make any changes to his license for three years--a request which Black has, thus far, refused.

A protest hearing before the ABC Board is scheduled for January 19. Reed and the other protestants are no doubt aware of the potential for the Board to rule in favor of Black on not only Reed's request, but also on other aspects which Black has already agreed to, such as operating hours. Black and his attorney, Andrew Kline, have indicated a willingness to go to a protest hearing--something which increasing numbers of restaurateurs and bar owners may be willing to do in order to push back against what they feel are overly intrusive demands from protestants included in so-called "voluntary agreement".

Stay tuned to see if something can be worked out in advance of the January 19 hearing date.

* * * * *

One final note to pass along: many of you have been asking about the fate of the proposed Italian Shirt Laundry restaurant and bakery, proposed for the former Shirt Laundry dry cleaners space at 14th and Q. I have been in touch with representatives of the Whisk Group, who are developing the restaurant, and have thus far only been able to confirm that plans for the restaurant are "on hold". Undoubtedly, this is due to the (unanticipated?) high costs of performing a cleanup of the site in order to be able to open a food serving establishment in the space.

Meanwhile, the building continues to deteriorate into more of an eyesore, as it has been tagged repeatedly with graffiti. I'll pass along additional information regarding Italian Shirt Laundry and its companion space down the street, Italian Cinema, as I receive it.

Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar Saga FINALLY Over

We are pleased to report that local restaurants Bar Pilar and Saint-Ex have, at long last, been granted their request for a change in their liquor license after overcoming a last-minute attempt by a small group of neighborhood activists to insert themselves into the process.

Their application had been protested by both the ANC and a group of protesters. Though negotiations had at times been tense (as reported in a number of previous posts on this topic), last week it was reported that an agreement had been reached.

Shortly thereafter, Phyllis Klein, DCCA Licensing Regulation Committee chair, sent a letter to ABRA director Fred Moosally requesting to be added as a signatory to the VA. Such a move could have had significant consequences for the agreement--including sending the matter to a hearing and potentially costing the community its ability to have a say in the restaurants' operations.

According to Klein, she asked to be added because she said that she believed that five individuals were needed to sign an agreement.

"In my long history in the neighborhood, I've signed two VAs," she said, "[and] at least five neighbors signed on."

However, ABRA regulations stipulate that while a minimum of five protestants are required to protest a license application, only lead protestants need sign it. This was a sensitive aspect of Saint Ex and Bar Pilar's VAs, which involved a number of ANC and community representatives. According to former DCCA board member and Chairman Joel Lawson, Klein's actions were an unnecessary complication to finalizing the agreement, and in her capacity as Licensing Regulation Chair she should have been aware of that fact.

"She's Chair of DCCA's Licensing Regulation Committee, so she should know exactly what she's doing here," exclaimed Lawson. "The potential risk of this regulatory machination is incredible, and sadly can undermine the resident's side of things; we have to be precise and professional."

In the end, however, the ABC Board ruled that Klein had no standing to protest since her group--which included herself, her husband Juan Mayer, and ANC2B commissioner Ramon Estrada--lacked the requisite number of protesters (five) in which to file a protest, meaning that Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar's license change will finally go through.

Estrada's attempt to join as a protestant is particularly noteworthy, as ANC2B had reached an agreement to withdraw their protest if ANC1B was satisfied with the agreement--which they were, since the agreement was signed by commissioner Pete Raia. ANC2B also passed a binding motion stipulating that Mr. Estrada's role could only be as support to the 1B commissioner, Mr. Raia--which certainly seems to make Estrada's role in the matter questionable.

This seemingly closes a chapter in what was truly an interesting and, at times, aggravating process to secure a change in license for two popular neighborhood establishments. This has been an important process to observe however, since the city's recent crackdown on ensuring that restaurant-class license holders are meeting their food sales requirements will likely mean that a number of other establishments may soon be seeking similar changes.

Saint-Ex, Bar Pilar Reach Tentative Agreements for License Change; Partner of ANC Commissioner Involved in Questionable Surveillance Tactics

Popular 14th Street restaurants Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar have tentatively reached an agreement with protestants to obtain a change in license class from "restaurant" to "tavern". The change will help both establishments escape restrictions imposed on restaurant class license holders that they viewed as financially burdensome and unnecessary (discussed in a previous post on this topic, available here).

The tentative agreement was reached on Friday between the restaurants' management and ANCs 1B and 2B, along with a group of citizen protesters led by T Street resident Ron Clayton.

The agreement should not result in a substantial change in operations for either establishment. Saint-Ex, for instance, will be required to meet a standard of a minimum 40% of gross receipts from food sales during the year. The restaurant currently derives 65% of its gross annual receipts from food sales and has no plans to disrupt kitchen operations, so meeting the 40% requirement should not prove difficult. Other requirements contained within the agreement include a cessation of outdoor food and drink service by 11 PM, and a clearing of their outdoor area by midnight.

The process to obtain approval for the change in license was not without controversy. During the past month, Elwyn Ferris--partner of ANC2B commissioner Ramon Estrada--was seen filming from across the street as patrons entered and exited Saint-Ex, an action which hearkens back to Ferris's controversial filming of gay patrons of former U Street nightclub Cada Vez in 2005.

Ferris's motivations for filming Saint-Ex patrons were unclear, and no evidence derived from the filming was entered against the restaurant as part of the protest. Ferris's actions also raised questions as to why an individual who was not a protestant of the application would even bother embarking upon such surveillance.

The change to a tavern license relieves Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar of certain burdensome regulations, such as requiring the presence of a chef on the premises within two hours of closing. (John Snellgrove, owner of Saint-Ex, had stated that the restaurant--which closes at 2 AM on weeknights and 3 AM on weekends--did not incur significant food sales after 10 PM and that requiring a chef to remain on site until midnight or 1 AM was a financial burden.)

The next step in the process is a status hearing before ABRA on June 10, when all parties will appear and confirm that an agreement has been reached.