Café 8’s Deal to Reopen Doesn’t Help Neighbors – ANC6B Committee Continues Discussion Monday Night
by Larry Janezich
Posted November 1, 2026
The 800 block of E Street, SE, Sunday morning.
An MPD security camera has been installed at 8th and E Streets, SE.
The compromise agreed to by Café 8 Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) allowing Café 8 to reopen did nothing to help the nearby residents who suffer the late night neighborhood activities of Café 8 patrons who socialize/party on the street before and after Café 8 closes. Given the limitations on what Café 8 and MPD can do and concern among ANC commissioners about what greater involvement by the National Guard would mean, the matter has by default been handed off to ANC6B and its Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Committee. The committee will continue the discussion of Café 8 at its virtual meeting Monday night, November 2, at 7:00pm. Here’s a link to the meeting: https://bit.ly/4BtSWSa
Last week, at a discussion with ANC6B Public Safety Committee meeting, Elif Sam, the café’s general manager (her father is listed as the owner) says that the late night disturbances are not all attributable to Café 8 patrons – that Ginza and Lola’s attracts the same clientele. She cited Café 8’s own unsuccessful efforts to address what happens in the neighborhood beyond Café 8.
A half dozen residents attended the meeting, to petition for a solution to the late night weekend street parties. They say the police response to calls amounts to an E Street drive- through which tamps down the activity in the presence of police but resumes when they move on.
Here’s a description of last Friday night on E Street from an email to MPD 1st District at 1:22am:
“Friday night Oct 30: Street noise less frequent but still enough to wake us up, from people parked in front of our houses heading to or from 8th Street, presumably Cafe 8. Noise started 12:30 am. Two recordings attached, from my living room at 12:52 am. Tonight, marijuana smoke has been coming in through our CLOSED windows since 10 pm. Yesterday afternoon, marijuana smoke on the sidewalk in front of Cafe 8 was so thick you could get high just standing there. The language below in OAG’s “compromise” agreement is unhelpful to us — because street parties often begin AFTER closing, and move onto our block.”
And here’s 1st District Captain Michael Hamlin’s response at 1:27am. :
“We have been checking on 800 E St throughout evening. We got a little busy. However, a unit will be back there shortly to clear the block”.
Although the compromise does not help residents, the two parties agree that more security for the area would be beneficial. They both want a higher police presence and/or a more visible presence and active security involvement by the National Guard. Sam urged the return of the bike and scooter patrols which she said had made a huge difference. However, each proposed solution is problematic.
MPD 1st District Captain Adam Crist, who attended the meeting, said MPD does what it can, but with a 20-25 person police detail to cover Sector 3 of the First District on nighttime weekends, he can’t afford a higher police presence on Barracks Row. The 3rd Sector includes he Ball Park, the Wharf, Navy Yard, and stretches east all the way to the McDonald’s on PA Avenue, SE. (Presumably, MPD deployment depends on the number of calls for service, and it might be helpful for MPD to include this data for Sector 3 and other Sectors with similar nightlife establishments in its monthly reports to the ANC Public Safety Committee.)
Crist gives credit to Café 8 whose owners he said have been cooperative in past investigations and who has already started making changes which will help their situation. He alluded to an MPD fledgling effort to reconstitute the bike and scooter deployment but did not commit to bringing it back to Barracks Row. He cites the limited personnel he has (20 – 25 officers) to cover Sector 3 on weekend nights, noting the force i down 700 – 800 officers and it’s difficult to recruit officers in the face of much higher salaries in Alexandria. He also said that it is difficult to recruit MPD volunteers for MPD’s business reimbursement program (businesses pay off-duty officers) because they already work overtime involuntarily and want weekends off with their families. He added, “There is a little bit of a stigma attached to the location (which discourages volunteering) – people don’t want to deal with that – what might happen from there.” Crist said he had “signed the paperwork” for installation of a MPD camera at 8th and E Streets.
Café 8 and residents would welcome a greater visible presence by the National Guard. However, whenever the National Guard interacts violently on DC streets, it raises questions about their DC deployment. The idea of their greater involvement received push back from ANC6B Commissioner and 6B ABCA Committee chair Karen Hughes who questioned the wisdom of encouraging National Guard lingering in a place which already has a high degree of tension, the lack of a well-defined deployment, a lack of training, and the finding by the DC Office of Attorney General that the deployment is illegal.
ANC6B commissioner Brian Gorman who chairs ANC6B’s Public Safety Committee agreed, noting the Guard is so politicized and not trained for policing that it leads him believe they should not be overly engaged. He suggests pursuing greater cooperation among Barracks Row Businesses to address the broader neighborhood security issues and supports the convening of the long-discussed Barracks Row business community roundtable to address the issue.
At last week’s meeting with Sam, neither commissioners nor the neighbors raised the question of why what used to be a family style Mediterranean restaurant rebranded itself into an edgy hookah (“lounge” is too mild a term) venue with a club vibe which attracts a clientele drawn to a late night place where patrons are searched for weapons upon entry. The next statutory deadline for Café 8 to renew its license is March 31, 2028 which will bring it back before the ANC with a request that the ANC support the renewal.
