Business

Robert Devaney • January 29, 2015

If the District has indeed become a hub for top-notch restaurants, the D.C. arrival of Nobu, one of the world’s top Japanese restaurants, would highlight that distinction. While it remains only a possibility, a source told the Washington Business Journal recently that Nobu is in talks for a West End space at 2501 M St. NW, two blocks east of Georgetown.

It is speculated that Nobu will occupy the ground floor of the former American Association of Medical Colleges building, which will be converted to luxury condominiums with retail space at the bottom.

Robert Devaney •

“With sales expected to exceed $2 billion in 2014 and continue growing exponentially, opportunities abound in the exciting e-cig industry, with franchising being one of the biggest.” So reads the International Vapor Group’s description of its business,

VaporFi, an e-cigarette store at 3210 O St. NW and next to the Chinese take-out, Kitchen No. 1, will open Feb. 7. It will occupy the space that housed William Donahue’s Antiques of Georgetown for decades until it closed in 2012.

Robert Devaney •

After selling its original store and moving to 1742 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Tari Consignment will close Jan. 31. Everything is on sale, including the fixtures. Drop by to bid farewell to owner Sara Mokhtari, who will leave D.C. for California.

Robert Devaney •

Charm, the jewelry store on M street between 29th and 30th Streets has picked up shop and moved to Bethesda. The Georgetown location closed on Dec. 30, with the new location, a pop-up, opening at 7801 Woodmont Ave. (inside of Reddz Trading) on Jan. 21. The new store will carry the same brands and accessories as the Georgetown location.

On the store’s Facebook page was posted: “After five years in Georgetown, Charm Georgetown has decided to close its doors to pursue other ventures. We can’t fully express our deep gratitude for your business and support over these past few years. Working with each and every one of you has been an absolute pleasure.”

Lisa Gillespie • January 16, 2015

Gourmet cupcakes tend to cater to those who can afford to pay anywhere from $3.50 to $5 for a small cake that might go for 50 cents at a bake sale. They are a trend like frozen yogurt, food trucks and perhaps even yoga, that has caught on quickly and, because of the demand, are not only successful but are pricey. Crunkcakes has something no other cupcake in the District has: Alcohol.

Crunkcakes does not have a store front or a gaggle of trained employees to sell you their product. There are only two women, Faith Alice Sleeper and Raychel Sabath, who bake the cupcakes that are sold throughout bars and festivals. Sleeper has three jobs – running Crunkcakes, working at Rock n Roll Hotel and Dangerously Delicious Pies on H St. NE. Sabath works in booking at Rock n Roll Hotel. Sleeper says her mother baked a lot when she was a child, and she put her own twist on what she learned at a holiday party in 2009.

Some cupcakes, like the Buttery Nipple, Grasshopper and Irish Carbomb, are based off of actual alcoholic drinks, but others are made from experimenting with different pairings. For example, the Fat Elvis is banana cake infused with banana rum and peanut butter Frangelico butter-cream.
Both in their 20s, Sleeper and Sabath say they know there is ample competition for cupcakes in the District, but because both are so busy at other jobs, they don’t really take notice.

“I’m so busy balancing work and trying to start a business that it makes waiting in line for cake seem silly to me,” Sleeper says. “We have a unique product in that we only sell booze infused cupcakes so I don’t really consider us a part of all that. We just want to help you get drunk with cake.”
The cupcakes cost $4 a pop and carry about one ounce of alcohol, so eating one is like taking a shot, though with the balance of carbohydrates, they may not be as big of a punch to the liver. All the cakes are made from scratch and with high-quality liquor. Sleeper admits that her clientele are fairly straight-forward, “People who like booze and cake.”

Sleeper graduated from American University in 2005 and was born in D.C. Her father was a diplomat, so she lived the majority of her childhood in the Caribbean and Latin America. Since college, however, H St. has been her home and because of her relationships with business owners, it’s been easy to forge a distribution through bars in the up and coming neighborhood. She says she can’t imagine not baking, “If I wasn’t working on H Street and doing Crunkcakes I would probably still be at some god-awful desk job.”
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Robert Devaney •

Eno Wine Bar, next to the Four Seasons Hotel, at 2810 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, anticipates an early October opening, according to a company representative.

The Eno family includes two in Chicago and three in California — San Francisco, San Diego and Half Moon Bay — with its sixth in Georgetown, the first Eno Wine Bar on the East Coast.

The company touts itself as having “exceptional wines in an approachable setting” and “offering guests a curated selection of wines by the glass, bottle and flight, as well as handcrafted cheeses, charcuterie and chocolates from artisanal producers.”
“Approximately half of the bottles will be priced under $50. The wine bar will also feature 50 wines by the glass, eight on tap, with prices starting at $9.”

The wine bar will showcase “several Virginia wineries…The bar will feature eight to 12 wine trios at any time, as well as flights assembled from the selection of cheeses and chocolates available. Eno’s commitment to supporting local producers on the food front will include charcuterie selections from Stachowski’s Market in [Georgetown], chocolate truffles from [Charlottesville] confectioner Gearharts and cheeses from Calkins Creamery in Pennsylvania and Cherry Glenn Goat Cheese Co. in Maryland.”