Update at 9:23 a.m. Thursday — Cove sent us the following statement:
Yes, unfortunately I can confirm the sad news that cove K St has been closed. This summer, we made a series of improvements to coves across the city — upgraded workstations, more call boxes, and separate focused and social sections for different kinds of work styles — and ultimately decided that we didn’t think we could bring our K St location up to our standard for the best member experience possible.The good news is that cove members in the area are well-supported by our South Dupont location that sits just 3 blocks away, as well as our other locations in the 14th St, Chinatown, Columbia Heights and Eastern Market neighborhoods. We’ve learned a tremendous amount from operating our first downtown location and its closing will enable us to focus on future growth and locations that deliver the full member experience. We are excited to extend cove’s offering to new neighborhoods and communities in 2017.
Co-working startup Cove appears to be scaling back its operations in D.C.
The company abruptly closed its location at 1990 K St. NW Monday. A sign on the front door of the business read, “Cove K St. is closed.”
The co-working space also no longer appears on the company’s list of locations. Workers were spotted moving things out of the space earlier today, a reader told Borderstan.
Cove’s locations on 14th Street and in Dupont, Columbia Heights, Chinatown and Capitol Hill are still listed as open on the company’s website.
We were unable to reach a Cove representative for more infromation. We’ll update this story if we do.
Photo courtesy of Elayne Burke
A subterranean space on K Street is now listed as “For Rent,” but that doesn’t mean you can actually rent it.
That’s because the space, located beneath Vieux Carre at 1413 K St. NW, actually holds an “unpretentious” hidden basement bar called “For Rent.” If the theme sounds familiar, that’s because the business used to be called The Speak, the speakeasy-style hangout that was shut down last year after operating without a valid liquor license.
Though The Speak briefly reopened earlier this year, it was again shuttered over issues related to the name listed on its liquor license. Now, it looks like the bar may soon reopen within the letter of the law.
D.C. alcohol regulators will make a decision about the bar’s new name later this week on Dec. 7. If all goes according to plan, the bar would open Thursday, Dec. 8, its owners told Washingtonian.
When the business finally reopens, its bartenders will sling cocktails named after D.C. neighborhoods. For Rent will also serve meat and cheese boards alongside a short list of beer and wines.
Someone stabbed a man downtown early this morning, according to D.C. Police.
The stabbing happened on the 1900 block of K St. NW just after 2:20 a.m. The area where the stabbing happened is about three blocks from Farragut Square.
The victim, a man, was conscious when he was taken to a local hospital, police said.
Authorities did not provide a description of the suspect.
We’ll update this story when we know more.
Arlington-based coworking company MakeOffices is coming to K Street next month.
The forthcoming location is scheduled to open its doors at 1015 15th St. NW Dec. 5, the company announced in a press release today.
When it opens, the space will fill two floors and 35,000 square feet with 112 offices, hundreds of desks, eight conference rooms, eight call rooms, six booths, a relaxation room, recording room, device lab, two wellness rooms and lounge areas.
The new location will also have free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea, fresh fruit, beer and filtered water for members, and will host town halls, networking events and keynote speakers.
“We had an opportunity to go to an amazing address,” said MakeOffices CEO Raymond Rahbar. “K and 15th is kind of the center of where you want to be on K Street.”
Though the space is geared toward “Washington insiders and disruptors,” it won’t be your typical “stuffy K Street office,” Rahbar added. Renderings show the space will have an open layout with plenty of colored walls, glass panels and art.
MakeOffices currently has workspaces in Dupont Circle, Clarendon, Rosslyn, Tysons Corner, Bethesda and Reston. The company also operates spaces in Philadelphia and Chicago.
A German cultural center wants to show off its new outpost on K Street with a free party tomorrow afternoon.
The Goethe-Institut will host an “open house sommerfest” in its space at 1990 K St. NW tomorrow starting at 3 p.m. The center moved out of its longtime location in Chinatown last December.
“Check out our digs while learning about the work of the Goethe-Institut, chatting with staff and others interested in German culture and language, enjoying German beer, and participating in fun activities,” an event listing for the party reads.
The DC Doner food truck will sell food and drinks during the event, and the center has also ordered German pretzels from Heidelberg Bakery to give out, according to spokeswoman Norma Broadwater.
The open house is also set to include an “interactive scavenger hunt” with prizes.
Though the new location is meant to be a temporary space, Broadwater said the center will likely stay on K Street for “a couple more years.”
Photos by Greg Staley
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Apparent “clerical errors” have caused speakeasy-style bar The Speak to shut its doors, at least for now.
The bar, which reopened at 1413 K St. NW last Tuesday, shared the news with its patrons last night:
Due to some clerical errors we have to go dark for while. Instead, join Vieux Carre this week for delicious cocktails – it's just upstairs.
— The Speak (@thespeakdc) July 29, 2016
“We are working diligently to clear up a simple clerical error and, as a result, have closed in accordance with D.C. regulations,” said brand consultant Seth McClelland in a statement to Borderstan. “In the meantime, we are excited about the opening of Vieux Carre upstairs at the same location to bring delicious New Orleans cocktails to D.C.”
Though the McClelland didn’t specify what the “clerical error” might be, it could have something to do with the speakeasy’s name, according to Washingtonian:
It turns out, however, The Speak may still be a real speakeasy. According to Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration spokesperson Jessie Cornelius, it’s a violation for an establishment to operate under any trade name that has not been approved by the liquor board. The Speak is not an approved trade name — only Vieux Carre is listed on the liquor license. Cornelius says ABRA is investigating the matter.
Cornelius confirmed with us this morning that ABRA regulators are still currently looking into the potential trade name conflict.
This isn’t the first time the bar has shut down after conflicts over its licensing. The Speak was shuttered last November after allegedly operating without a valid liquor license.
A New Orleans-style cocktail bar and restaurant could open on K Street as soon as “mid-June,” said the bar’s owner.
Vieux Carre is set to sling Cajun food and cocktails in the downstairs space of 1413 K Street NW by the middle of next month said the a representative for the bar, Jermaine Jones. Jones shared details about the bar during an ANC 2F committee meeting last night.
The bar “will serve classic New Orleans everything, from classically appointed oysters, shrimp or sausage po boys [and] hand cut cajun fries with remoulade,” according to a marketing packet Jones handed out during the meeting.
According to a sample drink list, Vieux Carre’s bartenders will concoct New Orleans-style drinks like hurricanes, French 75s and naturally, a vieux carre cocktail made with rye, brandy, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and bitters.
The bar will also include a “sleek, lean adult atmosphere” and feature a white marble bar, a wrought iron mezzanine and a “bartenders lab,” according to the handout.
(Updated at 2:49 p.m. Friday) A sweets-themed bar on K Street has been ordered to pay thousands in fines and to surrender or transfer its liquor license by Aug. 1 over charges it illegally served minors several times since late last year, according to D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
The proprietors behind Sugar (2121 K St. NW) must pay $19,250 and serve a 15-day liquor license suspension as part of an offer in compromise for serving underage patrons multiple times since last December, according to a recent filing with the ABC Board. The bar’s owners must also “close the business and stop operating” it and “place the license in safekeeping with the ABC Board or transfer the license to a new owner” by Aug. 1, regulators said in the order.
Someone plans to open a new barbecue restaurant and live music venue in the space once intended to house a luxurious caviar lounge.
The owners of a new eatery called “Vieux Carre” have applied to serve alcohol at 1413 K St. NW, according to a recent filing with D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).
Odessa, the caviar-centric lounge planned to open at 1413 K St. NW, won’t serve champagne to lobbyists or lawyers anytime soon.
That’s because the company behind the bar, Boyemarketing LLC, withdrew its application for a liquor license earlier this month, according to an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board order. (more…)
The future of a “caviar fusion lounge” planned for K Street seems to be in jeopardy, according to a recent order from D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
The panel has ordered a representative from Odessa to appear at a special January hearing meant to demonstrate whether the bar’s owners are qualified to receive the liquor license they sought to obtain for the lounge in September.
The hearing appears to stem from the closure of faux-speakeasy The Speak, which investigators say operated without a valid liquor license underneath Odessa’s space at 1413 K St. NW. Odessa’s owner, Ajiboye Laosebikan, also owned The Speak and helped sell alcohol without a liquor license in the months between May and November, according to D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration.
Some parking spots throughout D.C. won’t be occupied by cars tomorrow. Instead, they’ll be home to pop-up parks.
PARK(ing) Day is a national event that businesses, organizations and residents celebrate throughout the District each year. The city celebrates the event by turning parking spaces into these pop-up parklets.
Dupont Circle-based Rails to Trails Conservancy is participating in the event for the first time. According to Director of Communications Elizabeth Striano, they’ll set up shop near at 1400 New Hampshire NW and host bike accessory raffles, free giveaways, a bike repair station and pass out drinks and ice pops.
Bicyclists can also stop and get a Polaroid picture in front of a backdrop of a bike trail the organization helped build.
“We’re taking up two spots, so this year we’re feeling it out to see what works and what doesn’t,” Striano said. “Being able to safely bicycle in the city is critical, so we’re excited to help promote healthy places and people.”
There are 10 parks expected to go up in northwest D.C. Each will have a different theme, purpose and activities.
The locations and sponsors for the parks are:
Dupont Circle
- 2000 M St. NW (Island Press)
- 1400 New Hampshire Ave. NW (Rails to Trails Conservancy)
Logan Circle
- 1440 P St. NW (OCULUS)
U Street
- 1250 U St. NW (District Department of Parks and Recreation)
Adams Morgan
- 2424 18th St. NW (BicycleSPACE)
Columbia Heights
- 3407 14th St. NW (Washington Area Bicyclist Assocation)
K Street
- 2020 K St. NW (Golden Triangle BID, Gensler)
- 1830 K St. NW (ZGF Architects)
- 1612 K St. NW (Project for Public Spaces)
- 1200 K St. NW (HKS Architects, Inc.)
Many of the parks will be open from about 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year, there will be approximately 30 pop-up parks throughout D.C., more than double the amount from last year. Click here for a full list of where to find the parklets across the city.
Photo via Flickr user Aimee Curtis Photography
