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While you were on summer vacation, one restaurant on 14th Street that everyone knows, was plotting its next move! But we’ll get to that later! If you were one of those who took time away from town in August, you were probably in the minority because for most of the month, U/14 seemed as busy as ever! Take the 11th annual Dog Days celebration for example. For a pretty hot early August weekend, the streets were crazy-crowded with shoppers and gawkers. Retailers reported that this year’s observance of the traditional summer shopper savings celebration on 14th and U and surrounding blocks, was perhaps the most successful ever. Certainly in terms of sales they say.

Fewer Tricks at this Year’s Dog Days
Link, co-owner of Home Rule on 14th near S Street, and one of the original creators of Dog Days, agreed that this was the most financially successful of all the years. However, he pointed out that this year’s event didn’t seem to be as much fun as last years. He made reference to the Chinese dragons, dunking booth, and other festival-like events that were part of the 2009 Dog Days weekend. Logan Circle resident David Walker, saw it the same way.  “While most of the retailers that I spoke with said that sales were roughly the same as last year--and in some cases higher--this year's Dog Days Festival seemed to have a decidedly less festive air than last year's event.” Walker, a business consultant, added that the lack of carnival-like attractions “took away some of the block party atmosphere.”

But this year’s Dog Days wasn’t without its own “firsts.” U/14 newcomer Room & Board, which has occupied the corner of 14th and T Streets since June, got into the act for the first time. The contemporary furniture store, which is always crowded with shoppers on the weekend, may in fact have contributed in part to the large street crowds at this year’s event. If they weren’t there for the furniture, maybe they were there for the large, buttery “dog biscuits” that were both human and canine-friendly.

Ground Breaking Any Day Now?
Less like a dog and more like a turtle has been the pace of action on the JBG development project on the block of 14th Street between S and Swann. We’ve discussed the project, a mix of residential and retail to be superimposed over the Whitman-Walker building façade, several times in this column. The only “new” news is that the ground-breaking is now scheduled for sometime in the next few weeks. This isn’t the only U/14 development project that has been stalled. No one even bothers to give a date for any work to start on the 14th and U development project or the U Street Hotel project at 13th and U, anymore. At least not as far as I have heard.

Speaking of front burner projects, a new restaurant is slated to open in the building currently occupied by the Crew Club on 14th Street between Rhode Island Avenue and N Street. Called Teakwood, which puts me in the mind of Danish-made furniture from the 1960’s, the Thai restaurant is said to be scheduling an opening very soon. I believe this place is part of a national chain. Locating as close to the Crew Club, a gay bathhouse, as it is, you can believe the jokes have already started as regards the name of the restaurant. I would imagine that both entrances will be clearly marked to avoid too much confusion.

Holy Abstracts, a New Gallery on 14th?
Fear not, MidCity! Like a caped crusader, we return to rescue those we left hanging on the cliff earlier. The U/14 restaurant plotting its next move? Why, none other than St. Ex at the corner of 14th and T, across the Street from Room & Board. The owners of St. Ex already have a dual presence on the block—they own Bar Pilar down the street. But they are now thinking about opening a third spot in the very same block.  Hold onto your menus. good folk of MidCity! The new place won’t be yet another spot to get your grub and gulp on in case that’s what you were thinking! So what then? The owners are thinking very seriously about opening an art gallery directly across the street from Bar Pilar, in the very large ground level space that used to be occupied by L & N Thrift Store, which vacated the premises at the end of July. The building is occupied by Hunted House, Mid Century Modern furnishings, art and accessories, on the upper level. No word yet on when the art gallery would open if negotiations continue to go smoothly with the building’s landlord. Other interested parties in the space including a chain liquor store.