Listserv Misinformation
Today on the Cleveland Park listserv, Nancy MacWood stated, “In the past 20 years the restaurant/bar cap for Connecticut Avenue commercial area in Cleveland Park has not prevented a new restaurant from opening.” This statement is misleading at best.
In 2007, after the Blockbuster video rental store closed at the Park & Shop, where Weygandt Wines is today, the sandwich shop Cosi intended to come in as a tenant. Nancy MacWood’s ANC, along with the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, fought hard to enforce the restaurant cap. Rather than endure the red tape and fight to get a special exception, which would have been opposed by these organizations, Cosi decided against coming to Cleveland Park.
In Woodley Park, Nando’s Peri-Peri spent $100,000 in legal fees in 2014 to make its way through the regulatory exception process when it was opposed by Nancy MacWood’s ANC and the Woodley Park Community Association.
In Cleveland Park, Both Palena and Ripple wished to expand their restaurants but couldn’t because it would exceed the restaurant cap. Instead, both businesses opened “markets” in the store fronts next door, and put restaurant seating behind these markets, thus finding a loophole to the cap. Dean Gold, owner of the late CP restaurant, Dino, had this to say about these efforts on the Cleveland Park listserv, “Whether either of these businesses contribute to the profitability of either restaurant is also a question that only they can answer. But they only came about in light of and under the influence of the controls of the cap. And any other restaurant wishing to expand faces the same restrictions.” Palena went out of business first. Ripple got rid of its “Sugar Magnolia” market as soon as the cap had room and made the area, now occupied by Sak Saku Flakerie, into a dining room. Ripple went out of business soon after.
Given the notable headache this regulation has caused businesses, how many avoided coming the neighborhood altogether, given there are so many places that welcome new businesses in the District without the heartburn? BTW, this whole thread on the restaurant cap from 11 years ago is worth a read.
The next assertion Nancy MacWood makes is that the prospect of increased density caused the Roma properties to sell as they sought a windfall profit on the news, scuttling Firehook’s plans to expand. She states, “I think an influence on our commercial area was the Office of Planning's projection over 5 years ago that there would be upzoning in Cleveland Park as a result of changes to the Comprehensive Plan. That set in place real estate decisions and affected at least one well known decision to not sell space to Firehook Bakery so it could expand.”
This is false on its face – the trust that held the property was required to liquidate it (see blow). Moreover, the five properties involved (Mr. Chen’s, Al Volo x2, All Fired Up, and Firehook), which collectively sat on 11,060 square feet of land, sold for just $4.6 million dollars in 2021.
In 2018, knowing that their landlord was intending to sell the building they leased, Firehook purchased the building next door (formerly Wake Up Little Susie, now Femme Fatale), a 2,100 square foot lot, for $1.3 million. Just comparing the lot sizes to the price, Firehook purchased their building for $619/sf compared to the Roma properties selling theirs for $416/sf. So, if anything, the sale of the Roma buildings resulted in a significantly depreciated value compared to the recent sale of the Firehook building. It should be noted that Femme Fatale purchased its building in April for $1.5 million, netting Firehook a gain of $200,000.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Some out there are intentionally trying to mislead or deceive you. Check your own facts.
And perhaps tune in to this upcoming event at the library:
Join us on Thursday, June 8 from 7-8:30 PM for the first of a two-part series. Deanna Troust, Founder of Truth in Common and a local communications strategist, will lead participants in an interactive workshop on Misinformation -- What It Is and How to Avoid It.
The workshop will take place at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library on Thursdays June 8 and 15 and is open to adults of all ages and viewpoints.
Click here to view the entry on our website and register -- not required, but appreciated.
