No Proof, Yet

In today’s Tom Sietsema dining chat, he mentioned that Proof was having their kitchen installed, and should be opening around mid-June.

Thanks Mr. T!

Earlier this week I noticed Asia9 (Artisan Building at 915 E Street) has a new liquor license application posted with new hours and a new hearing date. This application is a renewal, which seems odd. The new hours are to close 2 hours earlier (midnight on weekdays and 1 AM on weekends, instead of the previously planned 2AM and 3AM). I would be interested to know if they we asked to change the hours to get the license. This would support what I said in another posting about the government and citizenry preventing the nieghborhood businesses from servicing customers something closer to 24 hours, not simply demand.

Anon: Thanks for the info! I don’t know the details of the new notice, but the old one mentions serving alcohol on the outdoor cafe until 3am on weekends (word is that they actually applied for a 4am closing, but that was shot down). The issue in this specific case is that a late night outdoor bar directly underneath residential windows is a very bad idea.

If this restaurant/bar were a few doors down the street, I think the late hours would be less of an issue.

Your argument is very valid, but I think the purpose of the 24 hour post was to search for late night amenities other than bars.

Yes. They are calling Asia9 a lounge. I am still holding onto a sliver of hope for a lounge more along the lines of Tryst in Adams Morgan. I think that would fall into the amenties you are speaking of, where you can have a coffee and talk, or work on your laptop.

In response to GP Living – DC will never become anywhere close to as vibrant as NY and other cities if the people who move into the city continue to try to turn it into the suburbs. I just don’t understand the people who move to downtown, Adams Morgan, etc. and then complain about noise, restaurants and bars. The result is that much of the city is a snoozer once the evening comes. I say keep the places open late and turn this into a 24 hr. city for the thousands of people who would enjoy it instead of catering to the 100 or so people who chose to live above the downtown streets and then figured out that they want the noise and activity levels of Reston Town Center. It’s always about 10 people who hijack the process through voluntary agreement arm twisting. This minority prevents the rest of us from enjoying a more exciting, dynamic, and, yes, noisy city.

AMEN!! You want quite white fenced suburbia – then go to white fenced suburbia – you want noisy, dynamic, fun, energetic, always alive city life (that is what we all think of a city, right – i.e. NYC, LA, Chicago, New Orleans, London, Paris, Rome, etc. etc. etc.) – then live in the city. I hate when suburbianites move into the city with their suburn values and try to change the city dynamic – you have your spot in the world – most of it in fact – can’t you just leave us our small, fun, loud, always alive spot too?

I don’t if all of the people commenting actually live downtown.. But, a lot of the push back on late hour clubs & outdoor bars come from long time downtown residents, not suburban transplants. And, the push back is usually directed at places that abut residential buildings.

I have lived here for 10 years – and I have long waited for this type of change to occur. This is DOWNTOWN – it should be fun – late – loud. That is what DOWNTOWN city living is all about. I mean this is ridiculous – if you want the quite town where you can walk your dog in peace – plenty of places for you – and you can’t just say that because a vocal minority is pushing to keep downtown boring means that such a thing is what most people want – look at the success of those places that do stay open late, that do have a loud fun city feel to them!! They do far better than the old school, quite, early closing, outdated places. Let the market decide and stop forcing your outdated minority views on the rest of us.

I hear there are lots of places available for rent in adams morgan. Stop trying to turn penn quarter into a 24 hour carnival drunkfest mardigras policeweek.

Anonymous 01:07:00 PM, there’s a big difference between a thriving, lively downtown and drunken police officers breaking the law. I definitely think our downtown neighborhood could use a little more excitement. Surely more late night spots, not just nighclubs but diners, coffee houses, eateries, would make our neighborhood more livable.

And to those who insist on comparing DC to NYC, please get real. Nothing is like NYC, and that’s what makes it so special. DC is a great place, and it’s getting better by the day.

Anon at 11:22: Since when has LA had a vibrant “downtown”? Last time I checked, downtown LA was as sleeping as you get seeing it’s almost all office buildings.

I don’t think anyone is asking for Reston, that analogy is absurd. You try living above a nightclub that doesn’t stop pumping bass until 4 a.m. on a Wednesday. But then again, you probably drive in from Springfield to party and throw trash around in DC.

A note about Proof’s owner… http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/06/kuller_gives_up.html

Initially, I heard Proof was going to have live piano music inside but I am not sure if this is any longer the case. I wish more DC restaurants had piano music to enjoy while dining, I find it can liven and transform a dining/lounging environment.

The Legal Times had an article about Proof recently, in case anyone is interested.