January Opening for 14th and U Restaurant; American Ice Co. Opens Thursday

It's been about a year since we wrote about the new restaurant and club that was coming to the vacant space at the corner of 14th and U streets. When we last spoke with them, Local 16's Ayman Ayoubi, along with Policy's Omar Miskinyar, had grand plans to open a steakhouse along with a "music and arts space" at the highly visible corner. At the time, Local 16's Salvatore Rosa indicated that they hoped for a July 2010 opening.


Well, clearly *that* didn't work out as planned, as the space continues to sit vacant, awaiting for some kind of activity. However, that could be changing.

According to both The Feast and U Street Girl, Ayoubi has confirmed that the restaurant, which is still unnamed (it's unlikely that the name that was being tossed about last year--Cafe Society--will stick), will open in late January on the second and third floors of the building. That opening will be followed in March by the opening of a club "very similar to Eighteenth Street Lounge" on the basement level. A rooftop patio is likely to open in the late spring/early summer. (Look for a bank or some other high rent-paying entity to take over the ground floor between the two spaces.)

In her post, U Street Girl expresses skepticism that Ayoubi and his team will be able to meet this timeline; I must confess that I join her in doubt. Perhaps interior work continues on the space, but I haven't witnessed a great deal of activity there in recent months. We will see what materializes there, however. As this space materializes, and with the recent opening of Patty Boom Boom and forthcoming opening of the Hilton Bros.' Blackbyrd Warehouse, the intersection of 14th and U is shaping up to become the epicenter of mid-city DC nightlife. Whoo boy.

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Speaking of the Hiltons, I've had Eric's band Thievery Corporation's song "Warning Shots" playing on my iPod a lot recently. Which...doesn't really tie-in at all with the other piece of Hilton-related news, which is that their latest venture, the American Ice Co., will be throwing open their doors for the first time this Thursday.

The Ice Co., located at 917 V Street NW, will serve barbecue, cans of PBR, and will be a laid-back kind of joint, according to manager Joe Reza. The will-they-or-won't-they questions regarding the Ice Co.'s opening appear to have finally been put to rest...for now. Prince of Petworth has a nice (ridiculously awesome?) set of photos of the interior, if you're interested.

Plans Take Shape for 24-Hour Jazz/Supper Club at 14th and F

When plans were announced this summer that the Border's bookstore, located at 14th and F streets, was going to be closing and replaced with a new restaurant from the Clyde's group, it seemed like a rather mundane announcement about a new downtown restaurant from a familiar chain.

However, when it was later announced that, in addition to the restaurant, Clyde's had plans to open a 15,000 sf nightclub in the basement of the building, that raised a few eyebrows. In a part of town not known for its nightlife--particularly not on that scale--many wondered what kind of operation Clyde's had in mind.

Now, we're beginning to get some idea of what's to come. From its liquor license filing with ABRA, we learn that the new concept--which is tentatively called "Hamilton Square Grill"--will be seeking a CX (multipurpose) license, which would cover the restaurant, live music venue, and proposed 96 seat outdoor patio. The 35,000 sf space, which includes a 20,000 sf restaurant plus the downstairs nightclub, will feature sushi, a raw bar and, according to Clyde's executive VP Tom Meyer, "comfortable, good food and a menu with drinks."

Perhaps most interesting, however, are the operatiing hours for the space: they are requesting outdoor seating until 2 AM Sunday through Thursday, and 3 AM on weekends, and plan to be a 24 hour operation inside.

That's right: a 24 hour restaurant/club in downtown DC. Those of you who are NYC transplants are likely wondering what the fuss is about, but 24 operations are hard to come by in DC--even in neighborhoods known for their nightlife options.

The Clyde's group plans on a tentative late 2011 opening, but we'll see if that materializes.

14th and U: The Nexus of DC Nightlife?

So sayeth the New York Times. Seems the Times has trotted out their annual hey-DC-is-cool-now article which focuses, not surprisingly, on the "Mid City corridor" (roughly Logan Circle, eastern Dupont and western Shaw). The article takes a look at what the Times calls DC's burgeoning nightlife scene, and gets itself all worked up over the fact that we have themed parties here now. (Something I'm certain our Williamsburg brethren would scoff at, such things having been moved on from in 2008.)



Overall, the NY Times seems to like our hood, which is nice. They published a similar article last January, as a tie-in with Obama's inauguration. Way back then, they had this to say:

Long the cultural center for many in the city’s African-American community, U Street went into economic free fall in the 1970s and ’80s. By the late 1990s, business started to re-emerge in fits and starts. Now, dozens of clubs and restaurants stay open late, pulling crowds from all over town and even the suburbs.

And today?

The nexus of the new energy is at 14th and U Streets...recently, local, national and political events — not the least of which was the election of Barack Obama — have met and married, helping to rejuvenate a night life culture that’s uniquely D.C.

Hey, it's nice to have our hood recognized up in big 'ol New York, but maybe they could take a different angle next time? Like, how we're rivaling the Lower East Side in terms of GPB (graffiti per building). Now that would be special.

If you have a few minutes, it's worth a read.