Van Ness/Forest Hills
Next week, we’ll be welcoming a new small business to Van Ness. Nicole Crowder Upholstery will set up shop at Van Ness Main Street’s storefront starting next Friday, October 25, and it will be open weekly, Thursday through Saturday, through November 23.
VNMS is here to to assist the neighborhood’s existing businesses and attract new ones. Acting Director Cherie Lester sees support for startups as a natural extension of that work. Crowder and the proprietor of bakery startup Sweet Evelyn live here. VNMS’s goal is to encourage them and entrepreneurs like them to expand and open permanent outposts here.
Van Ness Main Street is looking for local makers and vendors for its 4th annual holiday pop-up shop. Apply here by October 30th for a spot in the December 13-15 marketplace.
And, VNMS does stuff like this:
Today we brought the crew from @DC_WINDOWS_ to Van Ness to help brighten the corridor. They did a terrific job & the windows of the VNMS Storefront, @laligurasindian & @DCPho14 are sparkling clean!
They’ll be back soon for more improvements. Thx to Pho 14 for the refreshments! pic.twitter.com/WhM9ve72jD
— Van Ness Main Street (@VanNessMainSt) September 20, 2019
Uptown Market (4465 Connecticut Avenue) has opened its doors at last. Its hours this week are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and its beer and wine selection will be arriving soon. The new market got a warm, neighborly welcome from none other than Bread Furst’s Mark Furstenberg, who writes in his blog about the changes in the neighborhood over the years and says of Uptown, “I think it’s going to be wonderful.”
After closing for a few days in August for a mini-renovation, Little Red Fox (5035 Connecticut) added more grab and go foods, and started offering its breakfast foods through the lunch rush, and its sandwiches for dinner.
And it’s not a ranking, but we thought we’d mention that Little Red Fox is #1 on Eater DC’s “15 Places to Devour Pie Around D.C.”
If cake is more your thing, its sister store Sugar Fox (5027 Connecticut) has added a number of pre-designed cakes to its online shop.
Washingtonians have been blazing a trail to Van Ness for the five years Bread Furst has been around. Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema names Mark Furstenberg one of the trailblazers that have made DC a better place to eat in the past two decades. Also on the list: Sfoglina’s Fabio and Maria Trabocchi.
Chevy Chase
On Saturday, October 19, six restaurants in Chevy Chase, DC between Livingston and McKinley Street are co-hosting Sips ‘n Snacks, a new event. The idea arose organically from restaurant owners who wanted “to do something to help build a sense of community,” said Jerry Malitz, an ANC 3/4G commissioner and Chevy Chase business patron.
“We are fortunate we have six restaurants in a two-block area. Not many places can say that,” Malitz said.
Passes are $30 and available for purchase at each the participating restaurants: Blue 44, Capital Crab, Little Beast, Macon, Parthenon and The Avenue. At each restaurant, passholders can get one free drink and special snacks. Kids are welcome, too. You’re invited to make a day of it in Chevy Chase by heading first to the Lafayette School Fall Festival (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), then to Sips ‘n Snacks, which is from 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Tenleytown
Target’s grand opening in Tenleytown is set for Sunday, November 10th. That’s exactly one year and one week after the Best Buy at that location closed its doors.