Old Naval Hospital Foundation Applies for Liquor License
Mirage? Owners See a Chipotle Mexican Grill Here
Old Naval Hospital seeks Liquor License – and a Summer Garden with 500 Seats
Also: Chipotle for Barracks Row?
by Larry Janezich
Nearby residents might want to pay close attention to a couple of items on the agenda for the next ANC6B meeting on Tuesday, June 14.
The first is a request by the Old Naval Hospital Foundation for a liquor license for the new Hill Center. It’s a little hard to assess the overall impact on the community from the limited description of the ensuing use of the Center, but the application for the license states, “Educational, cultural and community programs to include concerts, meetings, receptions and events. Entertainment will include dancing, occasional DJ and live music for special events. A planned summer garden with 500 seats. Total occupancy load of 500.”
The application goes on to state the hours of operation for the inside premises and the summer garden as 7:00am – 2:00am Sunday through Thursday, and 7:00am – 3:00am Friday and Saturday. Hours of operation for the Sale/Service/Consumption of alcoholic beverages for the inside premises and the summer garden are listed as 10:00am – 2:00am on Sunday, 8:00am – 2:00am Monday through Thursday, and 8:00am – 3:00am Friday and Saturday. Often the applicant will reduce the operating hours and make other concessions in a voluntary agreement in order to smooth the way for license approval.
Details of the Center’s business plan have been sketchy, but at a fund raiser in March, Diana Ingraham, the Center’s Executive Director, mentioned that they already had two weddings scheduled for September.
The ANC6B Alcohol Beverage Control Committee will hear The Old Naval Hospital Foundation present its case for a liquor license and make a recommendation to the full ANC. The ABC Committee will meet at 7:00pm on June 9, at the Southeast Library. After consideration by the full ANC, the petition is scheduled for a hearing before the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration on July 18. Petitions and requests to appear before the Board must be filed on or before July 3.
The second item is a request for a special exception to allow a fast food restaurant – Chipotle Mexican Grill – to occupy 413-415 8th Street, SE, currently occupied by The Dollar Store and a space formerly occupied by China Wall. A special exception will be required because regulations do not permit fast food restaurants in this commercial district.
Similarly, the ANC6B Planning and Zoning Committee will hear the applicants present their case before it goes to the full ANC. The Committee meeting will be held at 7:00pm in the cafeteria at St. Coletta School, located at 1901 Independence Avenue, SE.
The next ANC6B meeting will be Tuesday, June 14, at 7:00pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, 522 7th Street, SE (the old Safeway Building).
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
Larry, You mention “A special exception will be required because regulations do not permit fast food restaurants in this commercial district. ” is this a new rule? There is already a Popeye’s fast food restaurant on the Row and I think China Wall qualified as Fast food as well.
I sincerely hope that the special exception is granted. A Chipotle would be great for the area. Bonus…it would remove the eye sore that is the dollar store/china wall.
I more than welcome Chipotle to Barracks Row. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve told people I can’t believe that one hasn’t opened on the Hill (not counting Union Station) yet. It would basically print money … they’ll be busy all the time.
Of course I’m sure some on our ANC (with the sticks up their you-now-what) who will protest this.
Chipotle is OK, but alcohol for a new Center that is supposed to organize exhibitions, concerts etc.??? I was thinking of small classical quartets and trios entertaining in the evenings and modern arts and crafts exhibitions in those beautiful big halls making the whole building an important arts center on the Hill. It seems to me we ended up with another big restaurant bringing more parking problems and late night drunkards urinating into our gardens.
No, thank you!
I think we need more explanation on what they plan to be doing with this liquor license, but I think they intend it for events (like weddings, concerts, etc) and not a night club. I don’t think they plan on making it into a restaurant.
I could be wrong. If not I support them getting a liquor license.
Alirhgt alright alright that’s exactly what I needed!
I for one will be sorry to see the Dollar Store go! Where ‘am I going to be buy my spiral-back notebooks, plastic party supplies, alluminium ‘take-away’ food containers, all manner of other needs that there is no need to spend ‘real’ money on. But Chipotle will be a good addition to 8th. And yes, where did that ‘no fast food’ thing come from? For goodness sake man/woman can not live on fancy (over-priced) food all the time. Though it’s clear some of my neighbors do not subscribe to that view. Just as long as we can hang onto Popeye!
The Hill Center needs a liquor license to keep its budget balanced and to keep prices reasonable for community groups. These are not the kind of folk who would ever qualify as rowdy.
As for Chipotle, there’s plenty of home grown Mexican on 8th Street already. Let’s keep out the chain operations.
The request for a liquor license is outrageous. This is s subsidized site and now it will compete with the private sector establishments. Halls can get special licenses for events and licensed caterers can supply acohol at events. Who is going to br running what appears to be a full service establishment? Absent much more specific information it is much too early to support the license application.
All, I don’t believe the special exception Larry mentions is especially new. It is just that it gives the community an option to weigh in and block a fastfood establishment (or at least make the case) if they want. This is as opposed to an establishment being able to open up ‘by right’.
It is part of the zoning for this area.
I don’t yet know how my colleagues on the ANC feel about this application, but I agree with at least part of what Maggie is saying. Way better if this was replacing another fastfood place than a fairly unique type of retail, but I assume that is all about the economics of the businesses involved.
I intend to look at the plans, hear from the applicants about their approach to being a good neighbor, but appreciate the comments here. (Except for Eric’s, but certainly happy to debate the location of my stick with him or anyone else over a newly approved beer and dog at DC-3)
Ivan –
I didn’t mean to offend you. That wasn’t a blanket statement geared towards all of our ANC commissioners. Perhaps, whether true or not, I should have omitted such a comment.
I’d happily toast a beer with you at DC3 … I was unaware they obtained a liquor license. Good for them. We can steer the conversation away from any sticks and where they may or may not be placed.
No worries Eric. I have complained about the ANC along with the best of them, in fact that is why I ran.
The ANC approved the new liquor license for DC3 so they could serve beer. I am out of town this week but hoping that by the time I get back the plackard is down and the beer is in the fridge.
People worried about liquor licenses are aiming at the wrong target. Barracks Row is in danger of becoming a target destination for vast numbers of young people hanging outside on the street (think M Street in Georgetown). Just this summer we have added take-out joints for cupcakes, frozen yogurt and sweets (three different shops). In restaurants, even those with liquor licenses, at least the comestibles are consumed inside the premises. A proliferation of takeout joints means an increase in street consumption. Fast food joints appeal to the same demographic. We are in danger of losing the community feel of the neighborhood.
The horror… The horror… People under the age of 35 may come to the Hill! We must keep the neighborhood boring and under developed for the geriatrics!
We have plenty of young people now, coming to all the restaurants, and that’s fine. I moved here from Georgetown and you do not want the zoo/mob scene that descends on M St every weekend. It has a place but that place is not in a family neighborhood. In Georgetown residents deal with it by staying home or (mostly) going away on weekends.
Barracks Row is 4 blocks long, 5 or 7 if you want to include the block past the highway and the two blocks north of PA Ave on 7th street. I don’t see how in the world you can compare that to the couple dozen streets that make up Georgetown.
I guess at least now I’m happy we’re worried about Barracks Row turning into Georgetown and not Adams Morgan … I think we’ve moved up.
The kids go to Georgetown for the shops, not the restaurants. Because you can go into a store and leave without having to buy anything, which is not really true of a restaurant.
I think you are giving 8th street a little too much credit. I don’t see herds and flocks of kids descending on the 8th street like mast locusts. First off, there is no school around. 2nd, 8th street isn’t as cool as we would like think. 3rd, 8th street has been gradually improving over there years and the crowd seems to be staying the same.
8th street will never be the new Georgetown. Don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with “young” people hanging on the streets.
The problem with the Old Naval hospital is the following:
“Hours of operation for the Sale/Service/Consumption of alcoholic beverages for the inside premises and the summer garden are listed as 10:00am – 2:00am on Sunday, 8:00am – 2:00am Monday through Thursday, and 8:00am – 3:00am Friday and Saturday. ”
This is just horrendous. A brutal attack on the neighborhood peace and quiet. Worse than ANYTHING on 8th Street.
I’m under the impression that the Hill Center license would be for things like wedding receptions.
I don’t know about you, but the last wedding reception I went to without booze wasn’t very fun.
If this is indeed a license to be used only with special events, then I don’t see what the problem is. It’s not like it would be a regular restaurant.
The Hill Center is a major enhancement to the neighborhood, and I surmise that the revenue from alcohol sales will help support the great programming that they are planning to provide. I don’t know any more about how they plan to use the license than you, but I would ask that the commentariat refrain from claiming that this is “horrendous” and “outrageous,” based on incomplete knowledge, without the full explanation that will come during the approval process. You may well learn that their plan is a benefit to the neighborhood.
Whatever they plan to do with 500 people at 3 AM on Friday and Saturday is nothing short of horrendous and outrageous. those adjectives are far too mild for what the liquor license proposes. How can that proposal benefit those of us trying sleep in the next block? We neighbors never envisioned the Hill Center to be a late night outdoor drinking scene for 500 people every Friday and Saturday. That is why we have been supportive, until now. Read their proposal to the DC Office of Property Management. It sounds great. You may accuse me of not knowing the facts before calling the liquor proposal outrageous and horrendous. But I read the proposed license. That is a fact and it is an outrageous and horrendous license proposal. It is an unconscionable assault on the neighborhood peace and quiet, not at all what we nearby neighbors envisioned the Hill Center to be. I only hope it is a huge blunder made by some junior person in their lawyer’s office and not intentional on the part of the Hill Center..
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Seems to me that a liquor license for events is fine, but the concern I have is the “until 2am” part. That means that wedding-DJ jamborees can be rockin’ to the 80s tunes and drunken groomsmen can be partying and throwing up on the sidewalk until the wee hours. Since this is a publicly subsidized facility, can’t we have some peace by closing things down by 11pm so the neighbors can sleep?
Again, any evaluation should take into account what the center is considering, what it views as necessary to remain viable, and what the community wants from the space (seems to me like a great place to have events). It’s a nonprofit trying to provide community programming in a restored historical building. That’s a really important goal, and the reason why they should get a full hearing, rather than blog comments calling for preordained outcomes. Balancing competing interests is central to city life.
Also, a liquor license does not mean they’d be exempted from noise ordinances, of course.
I think a chipotle would be a terrible idea for barrack’s row. We already have a chipotle style locally owned restaurant at 8th and L St. SE, Chicken Tortilla. Their burazzo’s are better and cheaper than chipotles. Also, I just want to point out the long lunch lines that are typically associated with Chipotle Establishments. Anyone ever been to the one in Chinatown during lunch? Mad house.
Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.
Chicken Tortilla is south of the target area and doesn’t receive really any foot traffic in the evenings and weekends such as the target area north of the freeway. Navy Yard employees are Chicken Tortilla’s main target.
Chipotle should take over the Blockbuster rental store premises. It’s equally as wide as the China Wall and Dollar Store and won’t require them tearing major support walls. Although, the ceiling is probably too low at the Blockbuster store. The other issue would be if the restaurant has a line out the door and the fire trucks need to depart the firehouse on a call.
There’s already a Popeye’s, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins, Subway, 7-11. If there’s a ban on chain fast food it’s nowhere in evidence. Personally, I prefer Baja Fresh, but I consider tacos to be three of the four basic foods groups all in one.
As I previously pointed out there are provisions in the law and ABRA regulations addessing the need and availability of liquor licenses for specific events. There are alternatives to a blanket liquor license as now propsed. Among may questions to be answered is who will be running the restauant/bar operation, will the establishment be non-profit thus limiting income to the city, is it fair to private owners that there will be competition from a subsidized location, and if this is necessary for the operation of the Hill Center is the business model unsupportable? Moreover, in my survey of neighbors, the opening of a full service establishment was not disclosed when support fo the center was sought. I will be interested to hear the presentation on June 9th and look forward to answers to the questions I have raised.