Margarita’s liquor license cancelled

From the April 2013 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

On February 20, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board cancelled the liquor license for Margarita’s Restaurant (formerly at 2317 Wisconsin, the current home of Sprig & Sprout). The licensee, Maria Villalta, closed Margarita’s several years ago. Lately, she has tried unsuccessfully to find a new location for her restaurant or a buyer for her license.

Under Glover Park’s liquor license moratorium, up to 14 restaurants in the neighborhood are allowed to have full-service restaurant (CR) licenses. At press time, the former Margarita’s license was one of two Glover Park CR licenses that were unused and unapplied-for, according to an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration spokesman.

The closing of Mayfair & Pine (2218 Wisconsin Ave.) and Kavanagh’s Pizza Pub (2400 Wisconsin Ave.) has left two more Glover Park CR licenses idle, though the Kavanagh’s license will soon be put to use at Arcuri, a trattoria slated to open in late April. The liquor license for JP’s Night Club (2412 Wisconsin Ave.), expected to reopen in May, is a nightclub (CN) license.

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Margarita’s former owner fights for license

Maria Villalta, the owner of a dormant Glover Park liquor license, has been unable to sell the license, according to a letter her attorney sent the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on December 31. Villalta used the license when she operated Margarita’s Restaurant at 2317 Wisconsin Ave., now the home of Sprig & Sprout. The ABC Board has said that they will cancel Villalta’s license unless she sells it or starts using it again herself.

Because she cannot find a buyer, Villalta has been “exploring the possibility of keeping the license and opening her own establishment,” the attorney’s letter states. She has been talking to the owner of the vacant tan condo building at 2136 Wisconsin Ave., three doors up from Monarch Paints, but the cost of constructing a kitchen there might be prohibitive. Villalta may seek to use the license in another part of DC, the letter states.

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Owner seeks buyer for Margarita’s license

From the December/January 2013 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

The owner of the liquor license for Margarita’s Restaurant is actively seeking a buyer, according to a status report she submitted to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on November 26. The owner, Maria Villalta, has approached Capital Restaurant Concepts—owners of J. Paul’s (3218 M St.) and Paolo’s Ristorante (1303 Wisconsin Ave.)—as well as the owners of Angelico la Pizzeria (2313 Wisconsin Ave.) about potentially buying the license, the report stated. By December 31, Villalta must submit proof of a firm deal to either transfer the license to a new owner or use it to open a new restaurant herself. If she does not, the ABC Board will cancel the license, according to an October 24 board order. Margarita’s Restaurant was formerly located at 2317 Wisconsin Ave., the current home of Sprig & Sprout.

Villalta’s license is one of two full-service (CR) licenses going unused under Glover Park’s license moratorium. The other license, one of two added when the moratorium was renewed last spring, has never been used and had not been applied for at press time, according to an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration spokesman.

 

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Sprig & Sprout to reopen tomorrow

After a booming, chaotic opening day on December 3—during which the kitchen ran out of food—Sprig & Sprout (2317 Wisconsin Ave.) has closed for a few days to regroup. “We’re so sorry,” the management wrote to a disappointed would-be diner on Facebook. “It was bad anticipation on our part, and totally didn’t expect a line out the door.”

The restaurant will reopen on Friday, December 7 for lunch only, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, December 8, it will open for dinner only, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Sunday, December 9, it will open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can check for updated hours on the restaurant’s website.

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Sprig & Sprout to open Dec 3

Vietnamese restaurant Sprig & Sprout (2317 Wisconsin Ave.) will be opening at 11 a.m. on Monday December 3, 2012!!! Pass it on!

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Sprig & Sprout building in ganja-scented legal tussle, City Paper says

Remy Esquenet, the primary owner of 2317 Wisconsin Ave., is suing his former business partner for full ownership of the building, the City Paper reports. The storefront, soon to be home of Sprig & Sprout Vietnamese restaurant, is one of several that Esquenet owns with the former partner, Jeremy Landsman, a Baltimore developer who pled guilty in June to involvement in a marijuana trafficking ring. The two men went into business together in 2011, shortly after Landsman—unbeknownst to Esquenet—had been indicted under seal. “It’s a crazy story,” Esquenet told the paper.

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Sprig & Sprout opening delayed; menu online

Sprig & Sprout, the Vietnamese restaurant coming to 2317 Wisconsin Ave., will open later in September than planned, according to a posting on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Originally expected mid-month, the opening has been delayed until late September due to water damage caused by a construction-related roof leak. “Our brand new wood floors, ceilings, and walls have to be taken out and re-installed,” the owners write. “Water…our friend and enemy.” To tantalize would-be diners, the restaurant has posted its menu on its website.

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Margarita’s owner a no-show at hearing; license to be cancelled

On July 11, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board held a hearing to discuss the fate of the liquor license attached to Margarita’s Restaurant (formerly at 2317 Wisconsin Ave.). But licensee Maria Villalta failed to appear at the hearing, so instead, the ABC Board ruled the license abandoned, according to a board order. Villalta has until July 25 to reapply for safekeeping status for the license, which has been idle since Margarita’s closed in late 2008. If Villalta doesn’t reapply by the deadline, the license will be cancelled, the order states. 2317 Wisconsin, now vacant, is the future home of Sprig & Sprout Vietnamese restaurant.

One of the 14 full-service (CR) licenses allowed under Glover Park’s liquor license moratorium is already unused and available to apply for, according to an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration spokesperson. The cancellation of the Margarita’s license would make a second CR license available.

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Co-owner reveals plans for new pho restaurant

The Vietnamese restaurant coming to 2317 Wisconsin Ave.—referred to in city paperwork as “District Noodles”—will be named Sprig & Sprout, co-owner Jennifer Hoang tells us. The name is a reference to the food’s presentation: “All of our dishes are served with some kind of sprig—basil, mint, cilantro—and bean sprouts,” she says. The menu is based on Vietnamese street food and uses “only the freshest and finest ingredients,” according to the restaurant’s website.

Hoang and her business partner (and fiancé) Marc Farmer have been renovating the vacant storefront, formerly home to Margarita’s Mexican restaurant, since April. The main floor will have an open kitchen and will focus on quick eats, Hoang says. Diners will order in line; then they can watch as their food is prepared for takeout, or else grab a table and wait for a runner to bring their order over. Upstairs, the vibe will be more relaxed, with table service of food and beverages, she adds. A liquor license application is pending.

The restaurant’s goal, Hoang says, is to provide traditional Vietnamese cuisine in an updated atmosphere: “Let’s be honest, almost every pho restaurant is pretty cut-and-paste. If it’s not rice paddy hat decorations, it’s fake bamboo plants. We wanted a new image. We are serving authentic and consistent dishes, but in a modern venue.”

Sprig & Sprout will have a soft opening in early September, when diners will be strongly encouraged to share their comments and suggestions to help iron out any kinks. A grand opening will follow in the fall.

For updates on the restaurant’s progress, you can “Like” its Facebook page.

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Liquor licenses: one goes forward; one goes begging; one gone fishing

Monday was the deadline for objecting to the liquor license application of District Noodles, the Vietnamese restaurant planned for the vacant storefront at 2317 Wisconsin Ave. No protest petitions were received by the deadline, says Alcoholic Beverage Control Board spokesman Bill Hager. The ABC Board will discuss the restaurant’s license application at a meeting on June 25.

District Noodles submitted its application on April 17, the first day that two new full-service restaurant licenses became available under an extension of the Glover Park liquor license moratorium. As of yesterday, no one had applied for the second available license, Hager says.

Meanwhile, the license used by Margarita’s restaurant, formerly located at 2317 Wisconsin Ave., is still idle, Hager adds. The restaurant has been closed for more than three years. At a January 11 ABC Board hearing, a board member told licensee Maria Villalta that if she weren’t making “reasonable progress” by July toward either selling the Margarita’s license or using it herself at a new restaurant, the board might cancel it. Villalta is expected to appear before the board next month to report on her progress.

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