La Colombe said last fall that it had a third D.C. location in the works, and now we know where it’s going: the Philadelphia-based coffee shop has signed a lease for space at 1336 Florida Ave. NW in the Manhattan Laundry building.
Douglas Development is in the process of redeveloping the historic building into a mixed-use project with office space for WeWork and retail on the ground floor. La Colombe, which already has locations in Blagden Alley in Shaw and at 6th and Eye streets NW in Penn Quarter, will occupy part of that space, confirms Matthew Jemal from Douglas.
The 2,500-square-foot coffee shop will be joined by The Franklin, a 5,500-square-foot bar and restaurant from Bedrock Bars’ Geoff Dawson and Peter Bayne. Reached by phone, Dawson declined to elaborate on The Franklin, saying that plans for the establishment have not been finalized.
Dawson has been on a lease-signing spree of late: He also has a bar planned for Douglas Development’s Hecht Warehouse district in Ivy City and another in Georgetown at the Shops at Georgetown Park.
Zannchi: This casual Korean joint from Georgetown MBA student turned restaurant owner Eunjung Kim will open in March in at 1529 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The 40-seat restaurant will serve Korean staples such as bibimbap rice bowls and banchan, Korean small plates.
The Pretzel Bakery: Capitol Hill pretzel shop The Pretzel Bakery moved into its new digs Wednesday and is now open at 257 15th St. SE. The 2,000-square-foot location more than quadruples the size of the shop, which used to be squeezed into a 400-square-foot space at the corner of 15th and D streets SE. The bakery plans to add more breakfast and lunch food and, eventually, craft beer in the new space.
BBQ Joint: Easton, Maryland-based restaurant The BBQ Joint has opened its first D.C. standalone spot at 2005 14th St. NW, right near the super-busy corner of 14th and U streets. BBQ Joint owner Andrew Evans has run a stall in Union Market for the past year. The new 14th street location opened Wednesday.