1624 Q Street NW: Hank’s Oyster Bar received approval Wednesday to expand into the empty storefront to the east, at the left in this photo. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Tom Hay. Questions or comments for Tom? Send him an email.
The DC Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board has granted Hank’s Oyster Bar permission to expand into neighboring retail space at 1622 Q Street NW.
The expansion, considered a “substantial change” in regulatory terms, has been a months-long effort by Hank’s owner and chef Jamie Leeds that began earlier this year and was followed by the filing of a protest by a group of neighborhood residents.
The December 8 order by the ABC Board granting the expansion did come with some conditions. Leeds must take reasonable steps to install soundproofing and mitigate any potential noise created by the interior or exterior of the establishment, since the expanded restaurant will now share a party wall with a residential property owned by Abdi Poozesh.
It was Poozesh’s testimony about noise concerns that was enough to sway the Board to address noise concerns in their order.
Read the ABC Board order allowing Hank’s to expand into the adjacent property.
Leeds must also limit the hours of operation, sales and service on the sidewalk cafe to 11pm Sunday-Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday. The hours of service for the cafe prompted a last minute scramble by ANC 2B (Dupont Circle) to become a protester after comments during an ABC Board hearing suggested the cafe could operate to 2 am Sunday through Thursday, and 3 am Friday and Saturday.
The ANC withdrew their protest after Leeds agreed to limit the cafe hours on the license for the establishment. The ABC Board did note in their December 8 order that ANC 2B would have been denied standing since their protest was not filed with the Board in time.
The Board order does not address the proposed rear patio or summer garden that Leeds plans for the newly expanded restaurant. The summer garden was not included in the application for expansion and may be considered another substantial change. Any substantial change would require public notice by placard and open the door for further protests. ANC 2B recently addressed continued placarding of any substantial change at a recent special meeting when they withdrew their protest over the hours of the cafe.
Hank’s also recently applied for and was granted termination of the voluntary agreement (V.A.) that they had operated under since opening in 2005. The request to operate without a V.A. was also protested by a group of neighbors, some of them the same ones who protested the expansion.
Hank’s Oyster Bar first notified the holders of the V.A. on January 26, 2010 that they would file a request with the ABC Board to terminate the V.A. Hank’s then filed the petition to terminate the V.A. on March 29. The ABC Board granted Hank’s request to operate without a V.A. on November 3 — a little more than seven months after the official request.
Previous Posts
- ANC 2B Withdraws Protest of Hank’s Expansion
- ANC 2B and Hank’s Reach Agreement on Patio Hours
- ANC 2B Votes to Protest Hank’s Expansion Plans
- ABC Board Approves Termination of Hank’s V.A.
- 6-Hour Hearing But No Decision for Hank’s Oyster Bar
- Residents Fight Hank’s Expansion; DCCA Protests V.A. Request
- No ANC 2B Protest on Hank’s Oyster Bar Expansion
- Hank’s Oyster Bar Makes Progress on Expansion
- What’s Up with Hank’s Oyster Bar
- ANC 2B Approves Limited Changes to 17th St. Moratorium
- ANC 2B Committee Report on 17th St. Liquor Licenses
