Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, yesterday I attended the North Columbia Heights Civic Association meeting at Bloombars, which featured a presentation from Jackie Greenbaum, who will be opening an as-yet-unnamed Mexican restaurant on 11th north of Lamont (next to Mr. Larry’s Pet Supply Store.) Greenbaum said she’s looking to begin construction in a few weeks and hopes to open in July or August. They already have a liquor license (more on that below.)
Greenbaum also owns Jackie’s Restaurant, the Quarry House, and Sidebar, popular places in Silver Spring that I’ve heard a lot of good things about (here’s their Yelp pages.) I was impressed by her presentation and really looking forward to the place. It’s small, though I missed the part where she mentioned number of seats, with about 36 seats inside (12 at the bar) and 30 on the roofdeck. They already have their liquor license and have their opening hours set per a ruling of the alcohol board: some neighbors protested it and the board ruled that the outside will be closed at 11 pm on weekdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday night.
As for the place, Greenbaum said it will be unpretentious and neighborhoody with good deals — there will be a $5 homemade margarita all the time, and ideally you’ll be able to eat and have two drinks for $20 a person and will have either entrees with prices topping out at the low teens or small snack food, or maybe both, including a heavy vegetarian component. They’re going to make their own sodas, horchata, and such and plan to have a nice, distinctive variety of food and drinks. She said she expects the roof deck to shine, and they’ll replace the garage door with either accordion glass doors or maybe just big windows.
Decor-wise, they’re going for fun and kitschy Mexican-style, and they don’t have a name for it yet.
Greenbaum also seemed really interested in helping out in the neighborhood, she said she was born in DC and has lived in the area her whole life and really likes the neighborhood. She talked about the importance of making sure the outside is clean and trash-free, and when the meeting moved on to discussion of the dog park at 11th and Lamont, Greenbaum offered to help pay for gravel or other improvements, as she has big dogs and appreciates dog parks. She was also interested in neighborhood cleanups. Sounds like a good neighbor to have.
She also mentioned she was interested in maybe starting a used furniture store. That could be a cool addition to the neighborhood too.
