In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog): Now let us dare to dream

Friday, February 08, 2008

Now let us dare to dream

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Originally uploaded by In Shaw

Open thread on this building at the corner of New Jersey Ave NW and R St. So what do you think? What do you know?

Labels: business, development

8 Comments:

At 2/08/2008 9:42 PM, Anonymous said...: Cafe? Deli? Pizza shop? Coffee shop? Beer garden?

Anything but:
-Liquor store
-Check cashing place
-Hair / nail salon
-Carryout out food

PLS
At 2/08/2008 10:05 PM, Anonymous said...: The owner of the property is named Jalil. I occasionally pass by this property while jogging around the neighborhood, and had a chance to chat with him about a month or so ago. He said that the upper level will be condos, but had yet to decide what to do with the lower floor. He was thinking a cafe, a coffee shop or a small deli/grocery store. He showed me the main floor, and it looks like a nicely sized commercial space (2 side by side bathrooms... one for women and one for men). Based on the bathrooms, would not be surprised if the space turned out to house a sit down restaurant.

I think his preference is to rent it to a business, but if he can't get a good rental arrangement in place, he is thinking about running the business himself... whatever he decides the business to be. He seemed very eager to show me the space, and was very interested in how I thought a cafe/grocery store would do in this part of Shaw. Ofcourse, I responded with as much enthusiasm as I could possibly muster up. This makes me think that encouragement, support and interest from the neighboring community can affect the outcome of what Jalil would ultimately decide to do. Who knows, if he doesn't think there is enough business from the neighborhood, he may rent it out to a hair/nail salon... God forbid!

I would encourage people to stop by, say hello, and express interest in his project... and pray that it could be a business we would be proud to have in our turf.
At 2/09/2008 12:25 AM, Anonymous said...: They have doing some hard work at this place for the last couple of months..it looks like a great renovation...I think a deli/coffeshop would be great underneath something besides golden china would be great....does he want to rent the upstairs or sell them??
At 2/09/2008 1:18 PM, Anonymous said...: There is plenty of room for outdoor dining tables. Great location. Can you see the Capitol Dome from that corner?
At 2/09/2008 2:23 PM, Anonymous said...: Would it be a good spot for a coworking location? http://blog.coworking.info
At 2/09/2008 11:30 PM, IMGoph said...: it's been great watching that place get fixed up....it seemed to be going nowhere for so long. it appears to my untrained eye that they're really putting some quality work in there.

with the wide sidewalks on both sides (NJ and R), it would be a great place for a cafe/restaurant.
At 2/10/2008 7:21 PM, Golden Silence said...: "Anything but:
-Liquor store
-Check cashing place
-Hair / nail salon
-Carryout out food"

How about flipping the switch to the positive:

-Wine/cheese establishment
-Small, local bank
-Day spa
-Sit-down restaurant

But from sammydakat's post, it seems like the owner has good ideas.
At 3/14/2008 6:30 PM, Unknown said...: I'm stopping by tomorrow! I would REALLY like it to be a coffee shop :)