September 15, 2006
The Weekly Feed: Disappearing History Edition
Walgreens To Invade Yenching Palace?
The old restaurants are dropping like flies. At the end of 2005, Truman-era steakhouse Blackie's House of Beef served up its last porterhouse. In August, embattled real estate developer Douglas Jemal purchased the land occupied by A.V. Ristorante — a move that will force the 57-year-old Italian restaurant to close by October 2007. And yesterday, an enterprising tipster told us that the rumor on the street (well, on Connecticut Avenue) is that Yenching Palace, the 51-year-old Chinese restaurant in Cleveland Park, could become a Walgreens drug store.
Although present-day locals know Yenching Palace more for the restaurant's fantastic neon sign and facade and its old-school charm than for the quality of its moo shu, there is no debating that it has a serious history in this town. Back in 1962, U.S. and Soviet officials hammered out the terms that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis at Yenching Palace. That's right, a nice pu pu platter and some stiff Zombies helped avert a nuclear disaster.
But Yenching Palace might not go gently into that good night. According to the information that our tipster has cobbled together, the Chinese restaurant falls within the Cleveland Park Historic District, so any proposals to alter Yenching Palace will have to go through the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C. If the rumors prove true and a sale successfully runs the preservation gauntlet, the Walgreens location would be the best-of-breed drug store chain's first outpost in the District.
No, Not the David Auburn Play
Speaking of rumors, we learned over at DonRockwell.com that a new "wine-centric" restaurant called Proof is in the works over by Jaleo near 8th and H streets NW. The chatterers speculate that the place will either be: a) a new wine-focused eatery run by two attorneys who bought more wine than they knew what to do with and thus decided to sell it; or b) a stealth production of New York restaurant mogul Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group, which recently opened the similarly named Proof on Main in Louisville, Ky. Whatever the case, D.C. is in desperate need of decent wine bars, so we're tentatively hopeful about Proof.
What's With All the Letters?
Two new consonant-heavy spots get soft openings this week. First, the long-awaited ps7 — the Peter Smith (ex of Vidalia and the Occidental)/Danny Boylen (ex of Notti Bianche) project at 777 I Street NW — opened quietly to a few select guests earlier this week and is now serving dinner to all. We can't wait to try the octupus three ways. Second, the significantly less long-awaited RNR Bar & Lounge, located at 717 6th Street NW in the space formerly dirtied by Coyote Ugly across from the Verizon Center, holds its "VIP Grand Opening" tonight. We'll know more this evening, but the press release makes RNR sound like a large sports bar with some entertainment on the side for non-sports fans.
Que Faire
If you love Greek food as much as we do (and we've been known to drive up to Baltimore's Greektown for a proper fix), you might want to head to the 46th Annual Greek Festival today through Sunday at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at 4115 16th Street NW. We swear we're going to stuff our faces with dolmades and moussaka. Opa, and all that. Call (202) 829-2910 for more information.
On Monday, September 18, the French Wine Society will sponsor a Grand Burgundy Wine Tasting at the French embassy's Maison Française at 4101 Reservoir Road NW from 7-9:30 p.m. For $75 (or $60, if you're already a French Wine Society membre), you'll have the chance to taste 200 wines from Burgundy and nibble on hors d'oeuvres. What has DCist taught you about wines from Burgundy? The red wines are generally made from pinot noir grapes, the wine whites are generally made from chardonnay grapes, and they're both minimally tannic. So, drink up. Click here to buy tickets.
Photo courtesy of flickr user Seth Gaines and used under a Creative Commons license.
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NO! Yenching Palace was the first place I ever ate at in DC....Its part of my historical district...please stay!
The Northwest Current is a great source of entertaining zoning/NIMBY disputes.
The most annoying aspect about the loss of Yenching Palace is that the NIMBY folks prevent the opening of new restaurants for fear that Cleveland Park will turn into an Adams Morgan. Move to the suburbs people! I believe this is why the McDonald's has remained vacant for so long and why it is hard for some of the restaurants there to get outdoor seating, etc.
I agree that neighborhoods should retain stores that serve the residents and not simply be a destination (dry cleaners, video stores, etc). However, not that I would ever want to be the defender of that horrible chain, CVS, but there is already a drugstore in Cleveland Park.
Along the same lines, why would some residents prefer to have that decrepit Giant on Wisconsin and Idaho, whose adjoining empty buildings have become a magnet for homeless folks, over a brand-new expanded Giant? Fear of traffic, change, etc.
And, how the World Market at Friendship Heights almost didn't open because some residents were afraid that it would sell wine???
Whoever these NIMBY folks are, they don't speak for me.
I looooove
They are 1) Clean 2) Well stocked 3) have friendly employees 4) have an amazing varitey of items 5) they are not CVS!
Let's finally get some competition in this piece :P
McDonald's has stayed vacant for so long, because the cost of renting the building (which is owned by McDonald's) is ridiculous.
The CVS in CP is expanding into the Radio Shack, which just closed. There is absolutely no need for another drugstore. Many folks in CP want to see something else in their neighborhood, like bookstores, shops, etc, but rent in the neighborhood is so high that these stores can't stay open.
Also, I'm not sure if they still are renting it, but for some time Spices was actually renting the kitchen at the McDonald's.
I'm going to miss Yenching Palace if it closes. The food was decidedly below average the last time I ate there, but you can't beat the old-school ambience. The decor certainly hasn't changed a whole lot in the last 50 years. And what other Chinese restaurant in town serves up those huge flaming volcano drinks, complete with 18 inch-long straws? It's a great out-of-the-ordinary date place.
Also, I seem to remember hearing that the old Lulu's/Blackie's space was going to be turned into a Walgreen's. Any news on that?
I'd take a date there if i wanted to get her drunk and never see her again too.
Don't forget, Jemal also bought out the Waffle Shop downtown. Historic Preservation Committee made him keep the facade, but the interior will probably be yet another sterile office cube. And I can guarantee that immediately after it's open, a bunch of cube drones will be loitering outside during lunch asking, "So where can we get something cheap to eat around here? This neighborhood could really use a decent diner."
First all the Hot Shoppes fold. Then Whitlowes moves to Wilson, then Scholl's Cafeteria folds, followed by Sherrill's Diner on the Hill. Now AV, Yenching, and Waffle Shop.
I'm tired of hearing that broken record about "affordable housing." What about affordable dining? If we can give a billion dollars to major league baseball, why can't we subsidize a couple of decent cheap restaurants downtown where they don't sell $5 crappucinnos or $9 burgers and charge extra for the fries.
So when the economy tanks, where are YOU going to eat?
Um, at home?
I just happened to stop by Proof on Main for a drink when we were in Louisville last weekend. Nice place, with an interesting wine list. I would love to see an outpost here.
I'm not sure local zoning and preserving the charm of your local neighborhood is NIMBYism. It may just be preserving your property values. Or wanting to remain in the neighborhood. There always needs to be a mix of retail, and I think that the local neighborhood should have a say about what gets built or opens in your neighborhood. Sure, sometimes this seems a little ridiculous. (Like the bans on chain stores in neighborhoods in SF, or the moratorium on new coffee stores in the Noe Valley neighborhood in SF when I lived there.) But locals often have a sense of what the defining characteristics of their neighborhood are. And what is needed. Not always. Of course. But DC (like SF) is a city of neighborhoods that each have a strong identity. And local parochialism can work to preserve that. Cleveland Park is the way it is because of local input. Even things like preserving one-screen movie theaters and local book shops has been because of local input. Maybe not in DC, but definitely elsewhere.
As for Walgreens. Having grown up in Chicago and lived elsewhere that Walgreens is located (basically the rest of the country), I have to say that CVS is a little better, but they can be just as draconian and bottom-line driven as CVS. So while I've seen wonderful light filled, progressively designed Walgreens in Berkeley (not a specific zoning requirement, but definitely a requirement to past the aesthetics smell test of the planning commission), I've also seen in Chattanooga, Walgreens tear down historic family restaurants to build suburban style outlets behind a sea of parking, while the rest of that neighborhood works to create a funky walkable urban village of coffee shops and local stores and restaurants. Zoning (and a planning department that throws its weight around) can be a good thing. If it wasn't, Washington would be a city of freeways.
While I'm loathe to root for the interlopers--I LOVE Walgreen's. But I kind of doubt that they'd be expanding to DC now since they seem to be on there way out elsewhere--CVS has taken over about 80% of their stores in Arizona.
interview GrizForm, the architect and get the scoop on Proof.
jemal also bought the DC Eagle. DC's main gay leather bar. now they will have to move as well some day.
wait, did coyete ugly close already? weren;t there enough guys going to the mci center for events to keep them going?
Cleveland Park needs MORE restaurants and bars. I lived there for several years, and the NIMBY's that fight any new restaurant or bar proposal, or any development despite being right on top of a metro station are wrong wrong wrong. Like it or not, CP is in the city, and should be a vibrant, urban area. If you want a quiet suburban glade, move to Loudon County.
ryan,
Coyote Ugly closed and was replaced by RNR Bar and Lounge. New owner was involved with a club called Home.
drugstore, drugstore, bank, starbucks, drugstore, bank, bank. jesus, enough already. honestly, the idea of another f'ing drugstore in such a charming strip brings tears to my eyes.
One of the things that drives "what can be in Cleveland Park" is the commercial overlay (which also exists in Woodley Park and Capitol Hill). These districts define and establish how many food establishments can be locted within them. The problem has arisen when DCRA has been inconsistent in defining how appropriate establishments are defined (does the Uptown Theater count since it sells popcorn?) and measured (square feet, linear feet, across waht area?)
I can understand not wanting to have 90% restaurants in a neighborhood, but on the other hand, just about everything in Cleveland Park (except Yenching) is busy every night, because of the demand.
In looking at Cleveland Park, another element...the Uptown Theater is a registered landmark, which means, not only is the facade protected, but so too is the use. If Loews ever decides to sell, and the single screen format is dead, there could be a white elephant on Connecticut Ave for a long time.
when the economy tanks, where are YOU going to eat?
I'll shop at Trader Joe's and pack my lunch.
Eating at home is all well and good, but SOME of us need a break from our helper monkeys throwing feces in our pompano en papillote.
Walgreens also purchased and tore down the classic Kahiki in Columbus, OH. It was one of the finest examples of post-war tiki architecture and was on the National Register of Historic Places, which unfortunately doesn't offer any protection. Walgreens has no respect for history. The Yenching Palace adds so much character to Cleveland Park.
A contributor on the Cleveland Park Listserv indicated this evening that the owner said they were not selling the property.
Hmmm.....
After Henry's "vices party" I suddenly had to exit my cab early. That night I did some "yenching" right outside of the Palace.
KAHIKI: Yes, Walgreens bought out the Kahiki in Columbus, but the owners had something to do with it -- they had to agree to sell. The Kahiki folks also repeatedly claimed they'd rebuild in Short North but never did -- at least not as of a few years ago. Do you have any intel, Tim, on whether this eventually happened?
My, we're showing our age, aren't we?
Yenching Palace was not all pupu platters and flaming drinks in 1962....it was about the only authentic chinese restaurant in DC. In the 50's and 60s, it was full of embassy staffers who longed for tastes of home, and foreign service officers who missed the foods they'd come to love in China. And those kinds would flock there knowing it was likely they'd see someone who had a bit of news to share, off the record, of course.
Yenching Palace was not a chop suey barn --- you could, of course, order chow mein, but the kitchen could also prepare authentic szechuan dishes when no one else was doing it.
It was also known as a place where secrets were passed, and other plans were plotted. Lots of history there.
That's not to say the food is anything great these days....unless you go in with some chinese speakers who can convince the kitchen to prepare something special for you.