Young thieves robbed two dry cleaners in Dupont Circle and Shaw yesterday, police said.
The robberies happened at Happy Cleaners (1509 17th St. NW) about 10:45 a.m. and Red Valet Cleaners (910 P St. NW) about 1:15 p.m. It wasn’t immediately clear if the crimes were connected.
At Happy Cleaners, about a half-dozen boys entered the shop and took $160 from a cash register, which one of them opened, according to authorities. They then fled.
Police released this tweet with suspect descriptions:
Alert: Robbery at 10:45 hours hrs in the 1500 block of 17th Street, NW. Lookout for 5 TO 6 B/M WEARING ALL BLACK CLOTHING/SHORT HAIR
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) December 20, 2016
As for Red Valet Cleaners, two teenage boys walked into the store and took money from a cash register when two employees were in the back of the shop, according to authorities. One of the workers tried to stop one of the thieves by grabbing his arm, but let go after becoming scared.
The robbers eventually ran off with $172 in cash.
Police released this tweet with suspect descriptions:
Confirmed Robbery at 1313 hrs in the 900 blk P. Str. NW . LOF: 2B/M's, 16 to 17 to 19 years old and wearing black jacket. pic.twitter.com/ImcRdWuOd2
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) December 20, 2016
A man fought off a knife-wielding would-be thief who tried to steal a bicycle with an accomplice in Shaw this past weekend, according to authorities.
The incident occurred on the 1500 block of 6th Street NW about 7:45 p.m. Sunday.
The man was smoking outside when he saw two people starting to cut the lock off a bike near P Street NW, police said. He then confronted them, and one of the individuals came at him with a kitchen knife.
A thief asked a man for the time and then joined another robber in punching the person repeatedly before robbing him in Shaw early this morning, according to authorities.
The violent robbery happened on the 1200 block of 7th Street NW about 1:45 a.m. today.
The victim was walking just east of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center when a man came up to him, police said.
More than two dozen local businesses are scheduled to set up shop under the same roof in Shaw this weekend.
The neighborhood’s Wonder Bread Factory (641 S St. NW) is hosting a pop-up “bazaar” on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 and 18. The event is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
“Whether you’re looking for a last minute holiday gift or want to treat yourself in between all the gift giving, this will be the place for a special shopping experience,” an Eventbrite page for the event says. “In addition to shopping, you’ll be able to connect with some incredible makers, artists, and creatives from the DC area and beyond.”
Businesses and brands set to sell wares during the shopping event include Mimi Miller, Oh-Mazing, Magpie Cookshop and Modami Apparel.
Poppir, a company centered on “listing, searching, and booking short-term rental space online,” is hosting the bazaar.
Image via Poppir Eventbrite
A new restaurant and bar could soon bring Ethiopian and Thai food to a vacant building in Shaw.
The forthcoming business, dubbed “Kiss Tavern,” is currently in the works at 637 T St. NW, according to a liquor license application recently filed with D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Administration (ABRA).
When it opens, Kiss Tavern will serve “modern” Thai and Ethiopian dishes alongside “unique cocktails,” the application reads.
Though the District has many Thai and Ethiopian restaurants, it has few — if any — that serve both kinds of food at the same time.
The space, which once held a copy, printing and shipping business called DC Postal, has been under renovation for months.
A representative for Kiss Tavern was not immediately available to comment on the opening. We’ll update this story if we hear back from someone.
A holiday market with more than a dozen local vendors is scheduled to come to a beer garden in Shaw in the coming days.
Dacha at 1600 7th St. NW is set to host its annual shopping event, with German mulled wine and spiked hot cider available for sipping, from 4 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Facebook event post.
The vendors are slated to include:
- Cuba Skate
- Two Doxies Jewelry
- KUZEH Pottery
- Marcella Kriebel Art + Illustration
- Pure Palette
- Rachel Pfeffer Designs
- Katz Coffee
- The Rich & Strange
- Miks Letterpress Plus
- Harper Macaw
- Fast Snail
- Nh.d Studio
- Hollow Work Ceramics
- Buraeu Skate Shop
- Mint Lola
- Mughal Garden
Photo via Facebook/Dacha Beer Garden
A neighborhood business group dedicated to Shaw’s revitalization has won a special brick from Councilmember Charles Allen as part of his annual Ward 6 awards ceremony.
Shaw Main Streets won the building implement yesterday during “The Brickies,” which is now in its 10th year. The bricks honor neighbors, community organizations, businesses, public service and civic pride in NoMa, Shaw, the H Street corridor and other parts of Ward 6.
The Shaw group picked up the Community Organization Award for its work to boost economic development in the neighborhood, while preserving the area’s historic character, according to Allen. The Brickie came after Shaw Main Streets received national recognition as a “Great American Main Street” this year.
“As a nationally recognized Great American Main Street, their work to bring economic revitalization to the Shaw neighborhood after decades of disinvestment while honoring Shaw’s rich cultural heritage is an exceptional accomplishment,” Allen said in a statement. “Shaw Main Streets has been instrumental in making the Shaw neighborhood a vibrant, diverse, thriving place to dine, shop, live, and play.”
Alexander M. Padro, executive director of Shaw Main Streets, said the councilmember’s award is a “great recognition” of his organization’s work to protect longtime neighborhood residents and businesses, while expanding affordable housing and attracting new restaurants and shops.
“It’s that commitment to preserving our neighborhood’s heritage and diversity, while managing the changes that have made Shaw a cleaner, safer, more attractive place for longtime residents and businesses, new ones, and visitors that have earned Shaw Main Streets national awards, like the Great American Main Street Award, and local recognition, like the Brickie, in the same year,” Padro said in an email.
In addition to Shaw Main Streets, Brickie winners included:
- Nicky Cymrot, president of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation and president emeritus of the Hill Center Board of Directors (Neighbor Award).
- The Pretzel Bakery (Business Award).
- Paul “South” Taylor, Department of Parks and Recreation King Greenleaf Recreation Center manager (Public Service Award).
- The Hill Rag (Civic Pride Award).
Photo via Twitter/CharlesAllenW6
Shaw residents can start basking in the glow of a giant, twinkling tree in just nine days.
The third annual Shaw Holiday Tree Lighting is scheduled to occur at City Market at O (800 P St. NW) on Saturday, Nov. 26, according to the event’s organizers.
The tree-lighting ceremony will include live music, “electric train rides,” a moon bounce, ice sculpting and face painting. Then, at 5 p.m. sharp, local officials and business community representatives will light up the huge holiday display.
Next week’s festival isn’t the only upcoming tree-lighting ceremony. The Columbia Heights Initiative will hold its annual event on Dec. 3:
The 6th annual Columbia Heights Tree Lighting Ceremony is on Saturday December 3rd! You don't wanna miss this great night!
— cohiinitiative (@cohiinitiative) November 14, 2016
The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to help with its annual Thanksgiving meal for locals in need at the Walter E. Washington Convention next week.
The free Safeway Feast of Sharing from the Salvation Army needs helpers to assist with the preparation of food and coats in advance of their distribution at the dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Volunteer opportunities are available on Monday, Nov. 21, and Tuesday, Nov. 22, as well as the day of the meal.
Only helpers who are at least 18 years old are allowed to assist with advance food preparation. But children who are at least 12 years old can help with the dinner when it’s served.
Interested locals can register online.
The feast is expected to feed 5,000 community members.
Chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley’s fast-casual restaurant in Shaw is set to pour free cups of java from Vigilante Coffee Co. tomorrow morning.
Smoked and Stacked (1239 9th St. NW) is scheduled to have the complimentary coffee from 8 to 10 a.m. Thursday to celebrate two months in business, according to a tweet from the eatery. The restaurant opened in September with breakfast and lunch sandwiches, as well as other food.
A cup of coffee normally costs $2.50 at Smoked and Stacked.
Photo via Twitter/Vigilante Coffee
Glen’s Garden Market is slated to mix Thanksgiving food, alcohol and running this weekend.
The grocery store is set to have a “Chicken Crawl” 5K that will begin and end at its Dupont Circle location (2001 S St. NW) Sunday, with a beverage pit stop at its Shaw outpost (1924 8th St. NW). The run is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
Tickets, which cost $10 online, include a local craft brew or a non-alcoholic local apple cider and help support Martha’s Table, which provides food to homeless locals and other people in need.
Glen’s also will have food samples from its Thanksgiving menu available after the 5K.
“Grab your running shoes and gather your friends for a little holiday mood booster,” the market says on its website.
Image via Glen’s Garden Market
A cyclist dodged gunfire, but took a bullet to his bicycle, in a bout of road rage in Shaw over the weekend, police said.
The shooting happened on the 1600 block of 7th Street NW about 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
The cyclist and a passenger in a car were arguing over the use of a lane near Dacha Beer Garden when the person in the vehicle pulled out a handgun, according to authorities. The individual with the gun then fired it at the cyclist, hitting the man’s rear bicycle tire.
A man sought in a gas station hold-up in Shaw and another man wanted in a violent break-in in Mount Pleasant this month have appeared in surveillance footage, police said.
The armed robbery happened in the Valero at 420 Rhode Island Ave. NW Tuesday morning. The burglary occurred in a house on the 1600 block of Irving Street NW the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Video police distributed today in connection with the robbery shows a man in a green hooded sweatshirt pulling a gun on a gas station attendant and eventually leaving the scene with cash in his pocket.
A bar in Shaw will become a haven for maritime bandits as part of a special promotion this weekend.
Eat the Rich (1839 7th St. NW) is set to host “pirate weekend” tomorrow night through Sunday. During the themed weekend, the bar’s staffers will sling $10 drinks like “pirate’s grog,” a concoction of rum, brown sugar, lime, Jamaican bitters, and mineral water; and dark and stormy cocktails on tap.
The bar will also serve such seaworthy fare as Rice Krispy treats infused with “dark and stormy” flavors and meaty “cannonballs” made with Thai pork sausage, egg and sriracha mayo.
As an added bonus, patrons who show up dressed up as pirates will receive 15 percent off their check.
“With all the pressures of costumes and parties on Halloween, we wanted to create something easy and fun where you could dress up as a pirate and drink rum all night long,” said Paul Taylor, senior bar manager at Eat The Rich.
Photo by Paul Taylor
A thief held up a gas station in Shaw yesterday morning, police said.
The armed robbery happened at the Valero at 420 Rhode Island Ave. NW about 11 a.m. Tuesday.
An attendant at the gas station was working in the cashier booth when a man asked him for the price of a soda, according to authorities. The man then flashed a handgun and went into the booth.
Once inside, he dropped his gun, and the victim tried to flee. But the man got his weapon back and ordered the victim to open the cash register and the safe and get on the ground.
The victim soon after opened the cash register, but said he couldn’t get into the safe. The man with the gun eventually grabbed $350 in cash and ran away.
Police tweeted out a suspect description after the crime:
Robbery: 400 b/o Rhode Island Ave NW. LOF-B/M, lime green hoodie, black pants, 175 lbs., 20 YOA, armed with a dark hand gun.
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) October 25, 2016
A representative of the gas station couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Photo via Google Maps
