ANC6B Commissioner Jerry Stoufe at right introduces entrepreneur Hollis Silverman at last Thursday’s community meeting. At left is ANC6B Chair Chander Jayaraman.
Some 40 resident turned out to hear about the new restaurant coming to the Hine project. Click to enlarge.
Here’s the corner of 7th and C Streets, catty corner from Eastern Market. The 7th Street entrance is at the far right behind the passersby.
Here’s a look at the restaurant’s overall footprint.
Prospective restaurateur Hollis Silverman has had a long professional history in the hospitality industry in purchasing, marketing and management, and is embarking on something she said “I would never do” – opening her own restaurant. Asked why she changed her mind, Silverman said, “After consulting for so long and being part of a team, I wanted to do it my way – build my own group.”
Residents Hear Details on 380 Occupancy Restaurant Opening in Hine Project Near Eastern Market
by Larry Janezich
Hollis Silverman of Eastern Point Restaurants met nearby residents of the Hine Project Thursday night to answer questions about how the 380 occupancy three-concept restaurant coming to 7th and C Streets, SE, will affect them. She hopes to open in January or February of next year, depending on the city’s permitting process.
The community meeting was called by ANC6B Commissioner Jerry Sroufe, in whose district the site lies, and ANC6B Chair/ABC Committee Chair Chander Jayaraman.
Silverman, who is partnering with Hine project developer Eastbanc to open the restaurant, was vague about how the three concepts would fit into the 8,500 foot space, other than saying that a breakfast menu would be served in the space at the corner of 7th and C Streets. A bar and another dining area would be located in the large space facing C Street. Silverman is not ready to announce the restaurant’s name or to be more specific about the concepts she envisions.
What she did say was that it will be a neighborhood restaurant first and a destination restaurant second. “One kitchen – one business – three venues: two dining areas and a bar. Three small spaces in one big space… a good mix of themes which will not compete with existing restaurants and with price points comparable to nearby restaurants.”
Silverman says, “I’m going to serve food that will taste really really good … healthy-ish … simple ingredients, seasoned well.” She says she’s looking for local and sustainable antibiotic-free and pesticide-free products.
Neighbors and residents had questions: What about – noise – hours – venting of cooking odors – splash pad – flea market – rodents?
Silverman said noise abatement would be limited to umbrellas over outdoor seating for now and that there will be no entertainment or outside speakers. The kitchen will close at 10 to 10:30pm on week nights and 11 to 11:30pm on Friday and Saturday. Engineers are looking at how best to vent cooking odors, but scrubbers (air pollution control devices) are cost prohibitive. The outdoor seating will not be in the way of the splash pad or the flea market. All the outdoor seating will be fenced off with planters and located on the C Street side, none on the 7th Street side, and the outside area will be cleaned nightly after service is concluded.
One resident commended Silverman saying that she was glad to see the space filled; she had been concerned about the street’s empty retail windows, compounded by Trader Joe’s being below grade. (Another prime 1,300 s.f. retail space fronting on Pennsylvania Avenue near the corner of 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue apparently remains unleased. Chase National Bank is opening soon between the 7th and Penn corner and Trader Joe’s).
The 7th and C Street space has long been marked for a restaurant, but it appears that Eastbanc has not been able to find a lessee. This will be Eastbanc’s second restaurant venture, the first being partnership in Kafe Leopold in Cady’s Alley which the company also helped develop.
ANC6B’s ABC Committee will consider the restaurant’s application for a liquor license on Tuesday, September 3, at 7:00 pm in Hill Center. The full ANC will then consider the committee’s recommendation regarding the license a week later, on Tuesday, September 10, also in Hill Center.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 