Taco Bell Bid to Open on Barrack’s Row Comes Up at ANC P&Z Committee June 6

411 8th Street SE – Barracks Row

Here’s an image of how the street looked in 2017 when 411 8th was the Lake Arbor Dental Clinic

Taco Bell Bid to Open on Barrack’s Row Comes Up at ANC P&Z Committee June 6

by Larry Janezich

Posted May 28, 2024

Next week, ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee will consider Taco Bell’s Bureau of Zoning Adjustment application for an exception to the ban on fast food restaurants on Barracks Row.  The restaurant wants to open at 411 8th Street, SE, the former site of the Lake Arbor Dental Clinic, which was gutted and renovated back in 2017 in anticipation of locating a restaurant there.  The owners – Zusin Development  – finally found one, but getting that exception may not be easy. 

The location for the proposed restaurant is between a Chipotle – which got around the fast food ban by applying to operate as “fast-casual restaurant” (a cut above “fast food”) and a currently closed Popeye’s.  (The Health Department closed the Popeye’s in November 2021 after a well-publicized rat infestation.)  The restaurant has announced its intention to re-open.    

Applying for an exception to the ban involves public hearings, the first step of which is consideration by the ANC Committee.  Here, the public will have its first opportunity to weigh in.  When the Committee forwards its recommendation to the full ANC for consideration – which could be at the ANC6B full committee meeting on June 11 –  the public can weigh in again before the application goes to the Burau of Zoning Adjustment for a final hearing.

The heavily-trafficked 400 block of Barracks Row has a reputation for being a “troubled” block.  It features several closed store fronts, a 7-11, a hookah bar, three currently illegal weed gifting  shops, a Dunkin’ Donuts, three pizza carryouts and a fire station.  It also has a Starbuck’s, Yes! Organic, and Chiko. 

The restaurants on the west side of the block have only a fence separating them from the back yards of the residences on the east side of 7^th Street, behind them, with no intervening alley.  Those neighbors have otganized in the past to exact settlement agreements with restaurants regarding restrictions of odors, noise, and indoor trash storage. 

Capitol Hill Corner will post additional details on the ANC6B Planning and Zoning Committee meeting on next Sunday’s The Week Ahead….