The cozy date night favorite of yesteryear Ristorante Piccolo, which a two-alarm fire virtually destroyed last fall, is set to reopen in 2010 according to We Love DC.
“[A]ccording to a recently displayed banner on the restaurant’s door, the eatery is scheduled to reopen in early 2010. No word yet on final opening date, or on what changes have/will take place to the menu, staff, or decor,” blogger Rebecca writes.
“Before the fire, the upscale Italian restaurant, which was established in 1986, featured a second-floor balcony overlooking the C & O Canal, hardwood floors, three fireplaces, and a strolling violinist to lend a romantic atmosphere to the dining experience,” the Voice’s Alisha Crovetto wrote.
In the intervening months, the restaurateurs who own Piccolo had a rough time getting some of their plans for renovation approved by various local government groups.
At a January Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, ANC Commissioners gave the owner and her mother a hard time about a streetside outdoor dining area. The Old Georgetown Board also recently rejected designs for the streetside balcony the restaurant sported before.
Hooray! After sending Apple back to the drawing board four, yes four times, rejected plans for a Wisconsin Avenue Apple store in hand, the Old Georgetown Board has finally approved their designs! And it sounds like the news storefront, which this fifth set of plans presented sans the huge front window they had initially planned for, and with more brick, really turns the OGB on:
“This is beautifully executed,” Stephen J. Vanze, chairman of the Old Georgetown Board, told Karl Backus, Apple’s architect. “We’re very pleased.”
At least that’s over with! Apple still has to get the O.K. from the U.S Commission of Fine Arts, the OGB’s overlords, but according to the Post, it’s unlikely they’ll flip the decision.
Apple still hasn’t determined their construction schedule for the store, which will sit where French Connection used to at 1229 Wisconsin, but by gosh—at least we’re getting it!
Lately, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting have all had their share of fireworks, and last night’s meeting was no exception. They didn’t get to verbally stone any representatives from WASA, but they did unleash fury like Hell hath none on the owner of Philly Pizza. The Commissioners also applauded the arrival of The North Face store, while poo-pooing their big red signs, and prepared Georgetown for the 11-month loss of its Safeway.
Philly P’s: The highlight of tonight’s ANC meeting was the Commissioners’ unanimous chastisement of Philadelphia Pizza’s new 1211 Potomac location. The night started out poorly with Commissioners interrogating the engineer of the new ventilation system for Philly P’s and only got worse as they attacked Philly P’s ratio of sit down patrons to unruly students. (According the the Commissioners, Philly P’s needed a permit if over 50% of their customers used take out after ordering their food.)
Matt, the owner of Philly P’s, told the Commissioners that only 5% or less of his customers left the store before finishing their food (OK, Matt). An intense question-and-answer session followed in which the commissioners essentially accused Matt of dishonesty. It was unclear, however, if the owner of Philly P’s completely understood what the Commissioners were asking
ANC Chairman Ron Lewis ultimately issued a veiled threat against Philly P’s, bothered by their late hours, the high number of take out customers, and the odor that bothers the neighbors.
“If you are truly interested in being a good neighbor, you will fix these things,” Lewis said. “If not, we will have a long and complicated relationship.”
Shiver. The ANC passed a resolution condemning Philly P’s.
The North Face: As we noted last week, Georgetown is getting its own North Face store.
The commissioners seemed pleased the store was coming to Georgetown. However, ANC Commissioners were not enthusiastic about the bright red sign that usually comes with these stores. Commissioners Starrels and Skelesy were especially critical of the “excessively” red nature of the sign.
But don’t let a headline fool you. The sign was the only contested aspect of the new store. According to the North Face rep, the store is set to open in three months—provided the Old Georgetown Board gives it the go-ahead this Thursday. Godspeed, TNF.
Tonight, Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Comission 2E approved the design the owners of 1229 Wisconsin Ave submitted for an Apple store—again.
Yes, this is the fifth time the would-be Apple store has had to appear before the ANC. They will now go on to present to the Old Georgetown Board, that un-bastion of democracy which rejected Apple’s proposed designs a fourth time last month, prompting speculation that Georgetown would lose its little apple.
The ANC unanimously ratified an amendment by Commissioner Charles Eason stating they “reacted favorably to the design … [and they] have no objections to the design.”
Very few (and rather inconsequential) changes were made the proposal that was presented last month. The Commissioners appeared sick of talking about the Apple store and recommended that the OGB accept Apple’s proposal this time around.
So it’s back to the Old Georgetown drawing Board! (And you thought our apple puns were bad). We’ll have the entire ANC roundup for you tomorrow morning!
Photo taken from Flickr user Darren Hester under a Creative Commons license.
Eager to have had their designs for the new Apple Store approved by the ANC, the owners of the (we hope) future site of Georgetown Apple Store skipped off the the Old Georgetown Board to get its approval, too—only to be rejected a fourth, yes, fourth time.
That’s right kids, Georgetown, which God willing will someday be home to D.C.’s first Apple store, may never get an Apple store in your time here. Georgetown Metropolitan has the scoop on just how egregious OGB’s rejection is, democratically speaking:
The Old Georgetown Board consists of three architects appointed by the U.S. Fine Arts Commission. Currently the OGB consists of the following individuals: David Cox, Anne Lewis, and Stephen Vanze.
And guess what? Only one of them actually lives in “Old Georgetown”. Cox lives in Kent (although his architecture firm is located in Georgetown) and Vanze lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland (although he also has a firm located in Georgetown). Anne Lewis (wife of ANC Commissioner Ron Lewis) lives just within the border of “Old Georgetown” at 34th and Reservoir.
Vox Populi is the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice, a weekly newsmagazine at Georgetown University. Opinions expressed in posts are those of their author alone unless otherwise stated.
Ristorante Piccolo after the October 2008 fire
Joke.
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