RSS FeedHappy Fourth Of July! *updated*
The Capitol grounds open at 3 pm, music in front of the Capitol (The Capitol Fourth broadcast on PBS) begins at 8 pm, music near the Washington Monument starts at 6 pm and the fireworks go off at 9:10 pm. The parade on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets, NW, starts at 11:45 am and runs for two hours.
Feel free to send in your photos from the day’s festivities to pqliving [at] gmail.com and we’ll put ’em up.
Happy Fourth!
Below are a few images captured last night by our readers…
Apartment Zero (406 7th St NW) Leaving The PQ
WaPo is reporting that Apartment Zero (406 7th Street NW) will be closing its retail store in the Penn Quarter due to a variety of factors including the landlord not renewing the lease due to building remodeling and a shift in customer base towards interior design/trade services away from retail shopping. The Apartment Zero website confirms that notion and provides some more detail leaving the door open for starting another retail presence.
We’ve been in Apartment Zero quite a few times since moving downtown and always enjoyed seeing all the new trends in living on display to touch and feel. (Almost bought a sofa there but couldn’t quite part with the one currently in use.) There is some upside for shoppers as everything in stock is on sale from July 8 until July 26. Some of what was on the retail floor we really liked and some we could do without but whatever your opinion, the store brought retail variety and eye catching interior designs to life in our neighborhood. In fact, we always thought of AZ as an outstanding example of an independent non-restaurant retailer with a good online presence making it in a local retail landscape dominated by places where food service seems to be the primary endeavor. Those times, they must be a changin’.
Thanks to Anon 8:48 who commented on the SoHo Space Now For Lease story for bringing this to our community’s attention.
BBQ Restaurant Coming To PQ! (410 7th St NW)
Thanks to Craig and Luke for writing in to let us know that Hill Country, a BBQ restaurant straight out of NYC, is going to set up shop in Penn Quarter! WaPo’s Going Out Gurus have the full scoop. The 250-seat restaurant is still a year away from opening at 410 7th St NW, the site of the soon-to-be-former (?) Lifestyles USA clothing store.
Some BBQ aficionados may be disappointed to learn that Hill Country’s BBQ methods use no sauce. Instead, they opt to season meats with a dry rub consisting of salt, pepper, and cayenne. However, their baked beans “with burnt ends” do sound interesting. Chowhound has some initial discussion grilling as well.
SoHo Space Now For Lease
We never did figure out what happened to the SoHo Cafe & Market located at 401 9th street NW, but the other day we spotted “for lease” signs hanging in the windows. While SoHo may not have been our favorite spot, it filled a need for the downtown workers to grab a quick bite at breakfast & lunch.
What would you all like to see fill this now vacant spot? Butcher? Bakery? Does anyone still think we need a small local grocer or is that need now being filled by the 5th street Safeway?