Business in Brief: Update from the Italian Bar; Van Ness Main Street has a spring market, summer movie nights; Is Uptown Theater planning a comeback? | Forest Hills Connection |

Help start a new business

Italian Bar (5008 Connecticut Avenue), the ice cream and espresso company of the I’m Eddie Cano people, has had to postpone its scheduled opening date.

“We have been forced to issue permits with DCRA and our opening date has been pushed back to several months which is costly,” Carolyn and Massimo Papetti recently wrote in a community update. “We were hoping to open last month, but are now looking at late January / early February. “

In the meantime, they invite the community to inject a little start-up capital, “to get through the first few months we are open”.

Here is the Kickstarter campaign. As with all Kickstarters, the project is only funded if it hits its goal of $ 15,000, and at the time of writing this, 93 backers had gotten an Italian bar under $ 500 for hitting this. threshold.

“There are a lot of great rewards for your support, from Italian magnets to limited edition ‘speaks Italian’ t-shirts to ‘fillable’ yeti coffee mugs, a month of gelato, etc.,” the Papettis wrote. “We appreciate any help you can give! “

A sign of progress for another new business

AllCare, a primary and emergency care clinic with multiple locations in the DC area, has built its new Van Ness location at 4340 Connecticut Avenue, in the retail space next to Acacia Food and Wine. A few days ago, her sign increased.

AllCare originally planned to open its clinic in the retail space at the south end of the UDC Law School building, which now houses the Van Ness Main Street office. Leeann Hall, president of marketing and communications for UDC, told Forest Hills Connection the clinic wanted less space.

The Covid cancels some Comet concerts

Comet Ping Pong (5037 Connecticut) canceled two New Years weekend shows and one performance on January 16 “[d]due to concerns over the current wave of COVID-19 infections. “

We are postponing the live music at Comet for a few weeks, but our delicious pizza is still available on site and to take away! Mmm look at these beautiful pizzas. ?? pic.twitter.com/S1VvdPOxgZ

– Comet Ping Pong (@cometpingpong) December 28, 2021

Why is the Connecticut and Nebraska Exxon so expensive?

In November, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer tweeted about the high gas prices.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION. Gas prices today here in Washington DC. pic.twitter.com/cF4W2xWZvb

– Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) November 9, 2021

Twitter detectives quickly determined that the photo was taken at an Exxon station a few blocks from the United States Capitol. Blitzer would soon be inundated with responses indicating that the gas station he chose to use as an example was not representative of prices in the district.

Next, WAMU / DCist weighed in with an article on “DC’s dramatic outliers, sometimes literally located across from stations that offer cheaper gas.” One of them is the Exxon at 5030 Connecticut Avenue.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court last year, the eleven-year operator of that Exxon station accused [owner Joe Mamo] to charge “higher prices for fuel than other gas stations in the same situation” – including neighboring Shell, which Mamo also owns. She also said he was charging her higher rent, all in hopes of canceling his lease (which he tried to do last year, sparking the lawsuit) in order to redevelop the property. In 2019, Mamo bought a property adjacent to the gas station, fueling rumors about the station’s fate.

A New Years Message from Van Ness Main Street

Executive Director Gloria Garcia writes:

Dear friends of Van Ness Main Street,

As we end another difficult year, I sincerely thank you for your commitment to our beautiful neighborhood and its family of businesses on Connecticut Avenue. It’s hard to believe I’m almost on my two year anniversary with Van Ness Main Street. Joining in January 2020, I had no idea what to expect for all of us. One way or another, with the resilience of the businesses, the support of the DC and Federal governments, the quick thinking of the VNMS Board of Directors and, most importantly, your support, Van Ness, Forest Hills and Wakefield. are now on their way back to prosperity, not just surviving.

We hope you have all been energized by our community development efforts as Movie night in the park, Art all night long, and our Pop-up holiday market it not only brought us together, but showcased what our neighborhood has to offer while also helping our businesses and other aspiring artisans, artists and entrepreneurs. And we were able to bring you all together to continue our beautification planting efforts on the avenue throughout the year!

As this year draws to a close, we hope you will remember VNMS regardless of the size of your contribution. Lots of things are planned for 2022, including our Commercial Sub-Grant program, a Spring Pop Up Market, Movie Night in the Park, Art All Night and our new public lighting banners adorning the hallway! To make it easier to donate, we’ve added Text To Give. Just text BannerYear to 202-952-7860 and easily donate right from your phone.

We wish you and yours a happy, healthy and hopeful year 2022. See you on the Avenue!

In Cleveland Park ….

Good news from Cleveland Park for the New Year.
– Work is progressing at the Uptown Theater. The hope is that they will reopen around May.
– And Captain Cookie and the Milkman are negotiating to open a brick and mortar store at 3411 Connecticut Ave (the former location of Firehook Bakery). https://t.co/lDwO07PpZe

– Tenleytown and surrounding area (@ Tenleytown411) January 2, 2022

The Washington Business Journal has the scoop on Captain Cookie & The Milkman. And here’s Popville on the events at Uptown Theater, which AMC shut down just before the pandemic shut everything down.

And in Tenleytown …

Visit small businesses with Myrna Sislen, owner of Middle C Music, in this Tenleytown Main Street video series. The first episode, on Mia’s Nails, was posted on December 6.

Forest Hills Connection is a Van Ness Main Street program.