Gin & Tonic redo plans revealed

From the May 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Gin & Tonic (2408 Wisconsin Ave.) will soon be transformed from a fratty late-night spot into an “upscale eatery and sports tavern that appeals to a wide demographic,” according to co-owner Fritz Brogan. The tentative name for the new restaurant is The Mason Inn, a nod to Glover Park historical personage Guy Mason, a D.C. commissioner in the mid-20th century.

The renovation, estimated to cost $800,000, will include a new layout with more seating, a rooftop terrace with sound barrier walls, and a full restaurant kitchen. Gin & Tonic is currently open only Thursday through Saturday nights, but the renovated establishment is expected to offer regular lunch and dinner service, Brogan says.

“We have already begun working with neighbors and ANC [Advisory Neighborhood Commission] members to lay out our plans and collaborate on fulfilling our goals for renovations,” Brogan adds. “With the new upscale concept and the full menu, we look forward to making The Mason Inn a destination that all Glover Park residents can enjoy.”

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Blue Ridge renovation delayed by paperwork, owner says

From the May 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Plans to remodel Blue Ridge (2340 Wisconsin Ave.) as a community coffeehouse and beer bar are still in place, says co-owner Eli Hengst, but the hoped-for June reopening date is looking unlikely. As part of the permitting process, the building’s Certificate of Occupancy has to be updated to accurately reflect the building’s capacity, and that application has been working its way through the Department of Consumer and Regulatory affairs “slowly—very slowly,” Hengst says.

The restaurant has been closed for renovations for months, but a private dance party there on Saturday, April 9 drew the attention of near neighbors, one of whom complained on the Glover Park Yahoo newsgroup that “our whole neighborhood sounds like one giant, rowdy party.” Hengst says the event was a birthday party for the wife of restaurant co-owner Jared Rager. Most guests were in their 30s or 40s, with kids and babysitters at home, adds Hengst, who says the listserv post “grossly mischaracterized” the event: “The party wound down before midnight. In fact, it was probably the mellowest crowd that strip of Glover Park has seen in some time.”

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Light fingers on the Avenue

From the May 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Spring saw a spate of shoplifting incidents in Glover Park, according to police reports. On March 28 at 2:30 p.m., a man entered Theodore’s (2233 Wisconsin Ave.), grabbed a rabbit-fur throw, and left through the side exit. Then on April 5 at 10:20 a.m., a man entered Whole Foods (2323 Wisconsin Ave.) and picked up multiple containers of body wash and vitamin pills, as well as a DVD. He shoved the merchandise down the front of his pants and left the store, traveling southbound on Wisconsin Ave. Finally, on April 8 at 5 p.m., four men entered the Washingtonian gas station (2450 Wisconsin Ave.) and loitered, becoming disorderly. When a clerk asked them to leave, they stole a Bic lighter and Orbit chewing gum before fleeing southbound on Wisconsin Ave. Police have no suspects in any of these incidents, according to the reports.

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Sullivan’s Toys to move (slightly) uptown

From the May 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Sullivan’s Toys & Art Supplies (3412 Wisconsin Ave.) has found a new home—at least for the next few years. According to owner Tam Sullivan, the beloved toy shop will move to 4200 Wisconsin Ave. (at Van Ness St.) in June. Sullivan’s shop is being forced to move due to the redevelopment of its current location.

Glover Park kid-lovers and artists had hoped the shop might relocate to our commercial strip, and Sullivan says that could still happen when the new, three-year lease runs out. “We love Glover Park,” he says. “It’s got soul, and the families have their feet on the ground!”

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Tornado relief event at Gin & Tonic Sat 4/30

To raise money for areas of the South devastated by this week’s tornadoes, Gin & Tonic (2408 Wisconsin) will be the site of a fundraiser for the Alabama Red Cross on Saturday April 30 at 9 p.m. The event, which will feature country music and a silent auction, is being hosted by six Southern state societies plus the local chapters of the Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and South Carolina university alumni clubs. A $5 or $10 donation at the door is requested.

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JP’s signs new lease on its old building

From the May 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

More than three years after a fire shuttered JP’s Night Club (2412 Wisconsin Ave.), the owners of the property have signed a lease that would bring strippers back to the building, according to James Charles, attorney for JP’s owner Michael Papanicolas.

The new lease, also signed by Papanicolas for the JP’s corporation, is contingent upon the club’s liquor license surviving a current challenge to its September 2010 renewal, Charles says. Two parties—the Advisory Neighborhood Commission and a group of neighbors represented by attorney Milton Grossman—have filed protests to the renewal. They argue that the club, founded in 1985, is no longer appropriate for an increasingly kid-friendly community. They also question Papanicolas’s fitness to operate the club, based on statements he made at an ANC meeting that seemed to contradict statements his attorney, Charles, had made to the Glover Park Gazette. (At issue is whether the club was, or is, for sale.) An Alcoholic Beverage Control Board hearing on the protests is slated for May 11.

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