Tio Javier 514 8th Street, SE
Sizzling Express, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
ANC6B’s Alcohol Beverage Control Committee met last Thursday in the ground floor conference room of the Hine Project to consider liquor license renewals. At left is Chris Medhurst, District Taco VP.
Celebrity chefs Bart Vandaele (Belga Café), and Aaron Silverman (Rose’s Luxury, Pineapples and Pearls, and Little Pearl) share a moment while waiting their turn to support renewal of their liquor licenses before ANC6B’s ABC Committee.
Tio Javier and Sizzling Express Will Close – Other Food News You May Have Missed Last Week….
by Larry Janezich
Tio Javier: Will close on April 15, according to @barredindc. The Mexican restaurant with the popular roof deck overlooking Barracks Row is one of William Sport’s Hill Restaurant Group (formerly managed by Xavier Cervera). According to Barracks Row Main Street, it will reopen as “a great new, refreshed concept by the same owners.” Tom Johnson, Managing Partner for the Hill Restaurant Group, is one of the co-chairs of the Barracks Row Working Group established by ANC6B Chair Chander Jayaraman to focus on reviving Barracks Row, which is currently experiencing a falling off as a hospitality industry destination. See here: https://bit.ly/2up9cnj
Sizzling Express: According to a Sizzling Express manager, the restaurant will close at the end of June when their lease expires. They do not plan to reopen in another location. In December, the restaurant cut back its hours, closing at 3:00pm on Sundays. A pet store and grooming service are rumored to be the successor.
District Soul Food: Got a grilling from ANC6B’s Alcohol Beverage Control Committee members considering the owners’ application for a liquor license renewal. According to tweets by Committee (and ANC6B) Chair Chander Jayaraman, the main issues are music noise (they are going to install new windows), patron noise (they can’t control what people do after they leave, but will post a sign asking patrons to be respectful of neighbors), trash (trash totes are being left outside despite agreement to store indoors), and cigar smoke seeping into adjacent restaurant Trattoria Alberto (DOH says DSF has now record that they got a required exemption to have a cigar lounge). The committee and the applicant went around in circles for about 45 minutes before the Committee voted to take “no position” on the application and bucked it up to the full ANC6B meeting next Tuesday.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
I always had to remind myself how awful the food at Tio Javier’s was so I could continue walking by and not get sucked in by the outdoor sitting.
The restaurant has already “updated” its menu and changed its name to no avail. A totally new concept will not fix its problems.
Jack and I and Susan and Mike are going to miss the “Sizzling Express”. It’s ‘where the elite meet’ for starters. Cops know this. Wonderful breakfasts. And the price is right. There’s no place that can come close.