Point Chaud Creperie is Open for Business

Remember last year when we thought for a time that there might be two creperies opening across from each other near the intersection of 14th and S streets? Well, one of those--"Crepes on the Corner"--which was slated to go into the former Garden District space has since moved over to Capitol Hill (or, "Hill East" if you're getting specific about it).

The second, Point Chaud, took its time moving into the former Circle Boutique space next to clothing retailer Redeem, but this weekend they finally opened their doors.

Here's my crazy, off-the-wall prediction for this place: this place will do mad business. Mr. and Mrs. 14thandyou stopped by yesterday evening; it was pretty quiet, as to be expected on a Sunday evening by a restaurant that just had a soft opening.

Point Chaud has a lengthy list of both savory and sweet crepes to enjoy (for anyone who has never enjoyed a nutella-filled crepe, you have missed out on one of life's finer little enjoyments). Each of us decided on a chicken-filled crepe: I went with sautee, and the Mrs. went with grilled. Both were very good--fresh ingredients, good flavor and well-sized. They didn't skimp on the filling, either. My one complaint is that it would be helpful to garnish the plate a bit to aid in the presentation--a little side of fruit, or event some parsley can go a long way.

They did a nice job with the build-out of the interior space, which features about a dozen tables and chairs, along with a few outdoor seats as well.

Perhaps Point Chaud's greatest attribute is its price. One of the consistent gripes we have heard about restaurant options in Logan and along 14th Street is that there are so few decent, low-cost options. Well, Point Chaud certainly helps to fill that void: two people can easily get crepes and drinks there for under $20. Many of the dessert crepes are in the $4-$5. As much as we may enjoy Cork and Saint-Ex, it's nice to have a good, lower-cost option in the neighborhood.

Point Chaud will be openfor breakfast at 7 AM during the week, a bit later on weekends (memo to file: good potential cheap brunch spot.) Monday through Wednesday, they will stay open till 10 PM, Thursdays through Saturdays they will be open until 3 AM, and will close at 9 PM on Sundays.

I couldn't locate a website for these guys (if you know of it, please post in the comments), but I can tell you that the crepe selection is plentiful. Overall a very good first impression, and we'll definitely be going back.

Back to the Grind: ANC Meeting This Wednesday-ABRA Matters and ARTS Overlay Committee Report

We hope everyone has had a good summer, and while we can't believe that it's drawing to a close, the pace of neighborhood news right now tells us otherwise.

Back from vacation, we're proud to remind everyone that it's ANC meeting week. And since the ANC didn't meet this past month, this month's agenda is chock full of interesting tidbits. The full agenda can be found here, but I'll pull out some of the highlights below.

The ABRA matters are always fun, and this month we get no fewer than six of them. Some are rather innocuous--1409 Playbill is petitioning to add lunch hours, a good thing as far as we're concerned (the more businesses open during the daytime, the better), and the application for soon-to-arrive wine retailer Cork and Fork. But there are also a few that stand out.

The Ghana Cafe (pictured at left), set to relocate to 14th Street from Adams Morgan, will be before the ANC to begin work on a voluntary agreement for their operations. The sticking point? The 2 am weekday and 3 am weekend closing time. Yeah, we know Saint-Ex has those hours, but we can't all be Saint-Ex, can we? Also, rumors of live dancing abound. Be afraid...be very afraid.

Next up, the rather interestingly named American Sacrifice Foundation. You may not be familiar with them, but you are likely familiar with the club that previously occupied the location now held by the Foundation--The Space. The Space's problems with its neighbors were well-documented here and elsewhere, so there's no need to rehash them. Suffice to say, expect the ANC to tread quite carefully here, seeing as how some people point to the lack of a voluntary agreement with The Space as one of the reasons the problems persisted for as long as they did.

Finally, Wednesday night may very well bring a conclusion to the longstanding saga of the voluntary agreement for the Vegas Lounge on P Street. Seems negotiations for this one were quite tense, with the Lounge bringing in their counsel and ANC2F commissioner Charles Reed making accusations of negotiating in bad faith. No one wants to see the Vegas Lounge go anywhere, so hopefully things will get wrapped up tomorrow evening.

In non-ABRA related happenings, Wednesday night will also mark the public unveiling of the zoning plan recommendations as put forth by the Arts Overlay Zoning Review Commission. Committee chair Andrea Doughty will be on hand to present the Committee's recommendations, which seek to guide and shape the direction of development of 14th and U streets during the coming years.

There has been much discussion recently over the future of the corridor--what kind of businesses should be here, do the arts have a future on 14th street, and so on. The Committee took an in-depth look at many of these issues during the course of a number of public meetings throughout the summer, and present the initial phase of their recommendations on Wednesday. The recommendations deal largely with zoning-related issues, and specifically look at the mix of retail (bars and restaurants, arts-related businesses, etc. and the types of developmental incentives that can be offered to projects that incorporate arts uses.

I am aiming to have a sneak preview of the Committee's recommendations up sometime tomorrow, but unfortunately can make no guarantees.

For those who miss Ms. Doughty's report on Wednesday evening, there will be a repeat performance at Thursday evenings ANC1B meeting.

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.

Partner of ANC Commissioner Attempts to Scuttle Saint-Ex Agreement; Goes After Policy Employees

UPDATE: We have learned that the voluntary agreements for Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar were signed by all interested parties yesterday evening, and were delivered to ABRA this morning. For all intents and purposes, this means that Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar's license change request will go through.

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14thandyou has learned that neighborhood activist/filmographer Elwyn Ferris and his partner, ANC2B commissioner Ramon Estrada, have been involved in two dubious actions aimed at local restaurants Saint-Ex, Bar Pilar and Policy. These actions include delaying and attempting to scuttle an agreed-upon voluntary agreement, videotaping patrons, and recording--and identifying, possibly through illegal means--license plates of cars driven by employees whom Ferris believed were violating a voluntary agreement.

Two weeks ago, we reported that local restaurants Saint-Ex and Bar Pilar had reached an agreement with a group of citizen protestants and ANC1B to change their liquor license from a "CR" (restaurant) class to a "CT" (tavern) class, in spite of the best efforts of Ferris, who was seen videotaping Saint-Ex patrons as "evidence" to be used against the establishment. According to sources, the discussions were quite heated, with Ferris growing quite agitated and, in a truly ungrounded tactic, attempting to use Bar Pilar's conversion application as leverage against Saint-Ex's.

Failing initially to prevent an agreement being reached between the two sides, Ferris tried again. In a June 8 email sent to ABRA director Fred Moosally, ANC1B commissioner Peter Raia (who had agreed to sign the agreement), Saint-Ex attorney Andrew Kline and others two days before a status hearing before ABRA, Ferris--who is not the lead protestant--makes clear that his intention is to draw out the process for as long as possible. His reasons for doing so are not explained, nor is his apparent animosity towards two of 14th Street's most popular establishments.

"I want to remind you that there are 31 protestants to this...conversion," Ferris writes. "We are not rushing [this]."

Two days later, Ferris followed through on his threat. Ferris, along with commissioner Estrada, began a fervent campaign to strong-arm Raia and others into not signing the agreement with Saint-Ex that had been reached days prior. These actions led the lead protestant, who was furious at the back-door, 11th hour tactics engaged by Ferris and Estrada, and frustrated at what would inevitably be a futile status hearing, to ultimately decide not to attend the hearing. Ferris had succeeded in throwing an unnecessary wrench into the proceedings.

One week and several additional revisions later, an agreement still has not been reached, but sources have told us that one is imminent--news which will certainly not sit well with Ferris, who is largely powerless to prevent it.

The Saint-Ex/Bar Pilar fiasco is but one in an ever-increasing string of questionable activities engaged in by Ferris and Estrada, all built on a foundation of bizarre or absurd motivations. In addition to the filming if Saint-Ex patrons, you may recall that it was Ferris and Estrada who caused an uproar several years back by filming young, gay Latino men entering a U Street nightclub as part of a protest.

Privacy issues have been raised again, this time in the form of a complaint drafted by Ferris and submitted to ABRA targeting recently opened 14th Street restaurant Policy. In the complaint, which was not raised to Policy owner Omar Miskinyar until after its submission, Ferris breathlessly details seven full pages of complaints against the restaurant, ranging from a lack of a sushi kitchen on the second floor to deliveries being made on T Street.

Most egregious, however, is a section on "parking." Ferris, it seems, has a problem with Policy employees parking on T Street which, while legal, was in violation of the voluntary agreement. (As was the process Ferris used to issue his complaint, incidentally. The agreement stipulated that such issues should be directed first to Miskinyar, as opposed to being sent directly to ABRA.) Rather than approaching the situation as most neighbors would--that is, arranging to speak directly with the restaurant's owner and working out an arrangement acceptable to both parties--Ferris decides to stake out the restaurant and record the employee cars parking along T Street. But he doesn't stop there.

Using unknown methods that are frightening in their invasiveness, Ferris then provides not only the license plate and make/model of the car, but the name of the owner and other personally identifiable information in the complaint--a clear invasion of privacy, and one which did not sit well at all with Policy's personnel. How he managed to obtain this information is unknown. While license plate searches can increasingly be conducted online, there are laws that limit how that information can be utilized.

Also unknown are Ferris and Estrada's motivations for repeatedly engaging in behavior that borders on sociopathic. Of course neighbors and community associations have a right to have their voices heard with respect to the operations of neighborhood businesses, particularly when such operations could threaten the quality of life for a neighborhood' citizens.

But this kind of behavior extends far beyond that. Videotaping restaurant patrons, including personally identifiable information in overblown ABRA complaints, and working vehemently to make life as difficult as possible for popular neighborhood businesses are not the actions of individuals with a community's best interests at heart.

Viewed in the context only of how this relates to the aforementioned 14th Street establishments, Ferris and Estrada's actions constitute little more than a nuisance. But it is important to ensure that such actions do not foster the creation of a hostile business climate in the neighborhood. "Balance" in these issues is key, but actions such as spying on ones neighbors, engaging in legally questionable behavior and going out of ones way to create tension between businesses and residents does not lead to balance--it leads to confrontation, and is ultimately harmful to the ongoing development of our neighborhood.

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.

Dupont ANC Taking Aim at Saint-Ex?

Is 14th Street brunch/dinner/bar spot Saint-Ex a restaurant or a tavern?


This is the question that has confronted it and numerous other restaurants in the Dupont/Logan/U Street area in recent months, as the city has moved to clamp down on establishments that don't meet the "restaurant" requirements for food sales. Tavern licenses, which offer much looser restrictions on food, can be difficult to obtain because converting an establishment from a restaurant to a tavern necessitates a change in the liquor license, which is nearly always protested.

With Saint-Ex, the issue is a particularly intriguing one, and serves to highlight the problems inherent in both the District's liquor license laws and the way in which such licenses can be protested.

Thanks to a recent article in the Dupont Current, we learned of Saint-Ex owner John Snellgrove's attempt to convert the liquor license of his business from a restaurant-class license to a tavern. The reason, according to Snellgrove, is that "keeping a chef on premises until two hours before closing time [as necessitated by the restaurant-class liquor law] makes no financial sense." So he's seeking to convert Saint-Ex's license to that of a "tavern" which would significantly loosen the restrictions on the hours of food service.

The point to keep in mind here is this: Snellgrove is adamant that Saint-Ex is dependant upon food sales to survive. The establishment currently exceeds the amount required to meet the restaurant-class quota, and Snellgrove has no intentions of scaling back or otherwise changing his food service. He is merely looking to escape a burdensome regulation that is costing his business money.

If you think that this sounds straightforward enough, then you clearly aren't familiar with the way liquor license protests function in our neighborhood. Practically every single license application —be it for a new license, renewal or change — is protested, frequently by the ANC in which the establishment resides. The U Street Commission has already voted to protest the license change in an attempt to negotiate a new "voluntary" agreement with Saint-Ex. I wasn't in attendance at the U Street ANC meeting when this decision was made, so I can't comment on what changes they are looking for. But that move by itself should have been sufficient to address any concerns the neighborhood might have with Saint-Ex.

Not for Dupont Circle ANC Commissioner Ramon Estrada. You might remember Estrada for his ardent opposition to Constantine Stavropoulos's plans to open a 24 hour diner and comedy club at a still-vacant building at 14th and T streets. Well, Estrada is back, and this time he's taking aim at Saint-Ex.

His complaint? Well, Estrada, who lives across from the establishment, is quoted in the Current article as saying "It’s common for 15 to 20 people to congregate on the sidewalk outside the establishment . . . I’m getting e-mails, calls. People are coming to my door saying that late-night noise shouldn’t go on.” Oh, do tell. You mean people are congregating on a block which sits in the middle of one of the most popular late-night corridors in the city and includes both a late might pizza takeout and a Yum's carryout? You don't say.

Never mind that Estrada can't identify which establishments these clusters of people have been patronizing, at what hours they are congregating, or how much of a disturbance they are actually creating (a fellow T Street resident is quoted as saying "We never have problems [with noise]"), it's got to be the fault of Saint-Ex.

And never mind that Saint-Ex doesn't even reside within Estrada's ANC — he led the charge for a unanimous vote (with one abstention) 6-1 vote (with commissioner Jack Jacobson in opposition) by the Dupont ANC to protest them anyway. And yet, the most absurd statement made by Estrada must be this:

“On its face, I cannot accept that you can’t keep your kitchen open until two hours before closing." To which I say: On its face, I cannot accept advice on running a food-serving establishment from someone who never has.

It is not clear what about Saint-Ex's voluntary agreement the ANC is seeking to amend--information and minutes from the respective ANC1b and 2b meetings are not yet available. Presumably though it would be something along the lines of enforcing the "peace, order and quiet"--a catch-all term that is frequently used to protest liquor licenses and which most certainly is already included in Saint-Ex's VA. Regardless, one has to wonder what other steps Estrada and others have taken to address concerns about crowds and noise associated with Saint-Ex prior to filing the protest.

Though we rarely stake out such defined positions on this blog, I'm going to do so now: that the Dupont ANC is involving themselves in a protest against an establishment that was one of the first restaurants to open along a blighted stretch of 14th Street, is not seeking to change its operations and, by all accounts, has served as a good neighbor is preposterous.

We're not against the proper regulation of businesses in the neighborhood, and we're not opposed to protesting said businesses when legitimate issues arise (such as issues related to The Space in Shaw, and their treatment of neighbors there). But there appears at times to be almost an undercurrent of hostility directed at business owners in the neighborhood, and particularly those with liquor licenses, by some in the community. We've mentioned this before, but it's critical to maintain perspective on these issues: are the complaints emanating from a couple of loud voices, or do they represent a recurring, systemic problem with the establishment?

The irony in all of this is that it is oftentimes these very business which have contributed towards the skyrocketing popularity of the neighborhood as both a commercial AND residential destination. We applaud the work of those in the community who seek to make it a more hospitable environment for residents and businesses alike, but this situation presents yet another example of the pitfalls that can arise when the majority of cooler-headed voices in the community are drowned out by a vocal minority seeking to mold the neighborhood into one of their own personal taste.