Business Ins & Outs: Mono Diner, Dent Place Market, Glover Park Starbucks
By February 6, 2019 0 1358
•In: Mono Diner on Wisconsin
Mono Diner at 1424 Wisconsin Ave. NW is set to open in late February after months of delays. We originally reported a late summer opening, but permits and other details slowed the process. The restaurant, from the owners of All About Burger, will offer table and bar seating with a “diner” feel. It will be the only 24-hour dining spot in Georgetown on the weekends. From Sunday through Thursday, Mono Diner will operate from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. Expecting plenty of business, GM Eric Spruill-Jenkins says that he has already hired 57 people. The menu is still being finalized, but we hear the crab cake BLT and the eggs Benedict are sure to be big hits. Mono Diner will add some old-school glamour to our neighborhood, as its design concept “is the Golden Age of Hollywood, with black-and-white photos,” according to Spruill-Jenkins. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a film star to afford it. The menu prices, we’ve been assured, are truly at “diner” level.
In: Dent Place Market at 34th
West side neighbors, rejoice! Making a late-February debut is Dent Place Market at 1643 34th St. NW, replacing the Deli Corner Store, which closed last year. It will specialize in wine and local craft beer — along with Bullfrog Bagels and Compass Coffee, served every morning.
In: North Italia on Penn
North Italia will open on Feb. 27 in the shiny new building at 2112 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, next to Flower Child, another restaurant from Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts, as reported in the previous Georgetowner. Led by GM Madeline Tedman and executive chef Nick Macera, the 6,570-square-foot restaurant will offer modern Italian cuisine for brunch, lunch and dinner. Next to George Washington University and four blocks from Georgetown, the West End-Foggy Bottom spot is North Italia’s first D.C. location and its 17th in the U.S.
Out: Glover Park Starbucks
The Starbucks coffee joint at 2302 Wisconsin Ave. NW will close by the end of March. The popular spot with patio space has been serving many a latte in Glover Park for years. The store’s property manager, Mia Lovink, confirmed the closure to gloverparkdc.com. Starbucks said last year it would be closing 150 stores in the coming months. The departure adds to the retail anxiety along Glover Park’s commercial strip, hit hard by the 2017 loss of the Whole Foods grocery store, once a big neighborhood draw.
Missing la Madeleine
Remember how disappointing it was to lose la Madeleine French Bakery & Café in Georgetown in 2013? Well, another one is finally on its way to downtown D.C. No word on when it will be opening, but construction is ongoing on Connecticut Avenue, near the Mayflower Hotel. We miss its Georgetown spot on M Street — closed along with the Latham Hotel due to water and mildew damage … reportedly. The nationwide chain, based in Dallas and founded in 1983, was a leader in the “fast-casual concept,” with a focus on unpretentious French country cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The company has 86 locations.