The Week Ahead…ZomTum Opens & Some Photos From Last Week

The Week Ahead…ZomTum Opens…& Some Photos From Last Week

by Larry Janezich

Posted August 10, 2025

Charles Kia’s New ZomTum Laos/Thai restaurant at 660 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, near Eastern Market opened last Monday.  The space was formerly occupied by Joselito.  For more about the restaurant and to view the menu, go here:  https://zomtumdc.com/about

The Week Ahead…

None of the political, community, or civic organizations regularly covered by Capitol Hill Corner is meeting this week.

One item of interest for the coming week:

Garfield Park- Canal Park Connector work begins on Monday, August 11, 2025.  The Garfield Park-Canal Park Connector Project will improve the DDOT Right of Way underneath I-695 that provides access between Garfield Park and Canal Park. It will provide a new ADA-compliant pedestrian path, drainage, and grading improvements.  Phase 1 of the work, located in the amenity area beneath the overpass will continue through January 2026.  During construction the site will be closed to pedestrian traffic.  A pedestrian detour will be in effect from the intersection of H Street SE and 2nd Street SE around Garfield Park using 3rd St SE & F St SE. The view shown above is the construction site seen from 2nd and H Street, SE, looking north into Garfield Park. To the left is the Virginia Avehue spur which deadends after a few hundred yards.

More of the Virginia Avenue spur – formerly the site of a homeless encampment which the city removed. The upgrade to the area under the bridge will incorporate the use of the area into the park. The upgrades will include repaving the existing skate park, the basketball court, and the new pickleball courts. 

Virginia Avenue deadends beyond the construction trailer visible in the photo. This will be the site of pickleball courts funded by the DDOT and Washington DC Pickleball.

Here’s the site of the formen basketball court.

Here’s a rendering of the new court.

Here’s a view of the site looking west. Last week, this space held around 30 giant stone blocks each weighing a few tons. They were salvaged from their original purpose when they formed the arched entryway to the origina CSX Railway Tunnel. Last week, they were removed to the vacant cornor in front of Blackbird Salon at Virginia Avenue and 8th Street, SE. It’s unclear what plans the city has for them.

And here’s a rendering of the new skatepark which will lie west of the basketball court.

This project is separate from but is being coordinated with the Department of Parks and Recreation’s just completed renovation of Garfield Park project.  Asphalt work and painting are weather dependent, necessitating a flexible timeline – the project could be completed as early as late Fall/early winter or as late at March 2026.