INS & OUTS

BY ROBERT DEVANEY

IN: FANGYÁN, FASHION FROM ASIA, OPENS

East Asian fashion store Fangyán opened June 30 at 1057 Wisconsin Ave. NW in the ground floor space that used to be the AT&T store. The clothing store will feature collections from more than 15 Asian designers and labels, such as Mukzin, ZI II CI IEN and Fansilanen, in addition to its own brand of silk, wool and cashmere styles, including outerwear, swimwear, dresses and more.

IN: ARCAY CHOCOLATES ON O

And you thought this chocolate fad was over. Arcay Chocolates will open this month at 3211 O St. NW, the former site of the cat cafe, Crumbs & Whiskers. The chocolate machines arrived July 1, we are told. Chocolatier Anabella Arcay started the family business in Venezuela and moved five years ago to the U.S. and already has a spot at Union Market. The business tells us “Arcay Chocolates is a family-run and awardwinning chocolate studio in Washington D.C. With more than 15 years of experience, we offer an exquisite range of chocolate bonbons, bars and confitures.”

IN: LUGANO DIAMONDS AT ENO SPACE

Who knew that wine, cheese and charcuterie could lead to diamonds?

Lugano Diamonds & Jewelry, designer and manufacturer of high-end, one-of-a-kind jewelry, took over the space once held by the Eno Wine Bar at 2810 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Next to the Four Seasons Hotel, the luxe jeweler was founded in 2004 and purchased by Compass Diversified two years ago for $256 million. Lugano has four other retail shops: Newport Beach and Aspen as well as Palm Beach and Ocala, Florida.

IN: GEORGETOWN GARDEN SHOP ON O

Georgetown Garden Shop just opened at Robert Bell’s spot at 3214 O St. NW. Caroline Ervin is selling garden decor, small tools and accessories on the first floor and continuing her Landscape Design business from the lower level. Stop by and say hello. Check how this little commercial piece of O Street is getting revived.

IN: MUGSY ON M ST.

Ready for summer? Mugsy is — No, not the basketball player — but the super smooth jeans maker, which opened at 2922 M St. NW, where Keith Lippert once had a shop. Made with high-tech fabrics, Mugsy sells “the most comfortable men’s jeans ever,” it tells us, that are “infused with buttery softness and insane stretch. Mugsys are stylish jeans that feel like sweatpants.”

REOPENED: DR. MARTENS

Dr. Martens, the iconic footwear brand and retailer supplying chunky shoes and funky boots, has reopened after temporarily closing its store at 3108 M St. NW for renovation.

La Chaumi Re Gets New Owner

Carol Joynt was first to report: “Owner M artin Lumet confirms he sold his popular #Georgetown #restaurant La Chaumière to a new owner, ‘who is French, of course,’ and the almost 50 yr old bistro ‘will keep its name, menu and staff.’ The sale is effective immediately, but Martin will be on hand a few more weeks.”

“If it’s not broken, don’t change it,” Lumet told Washingtonian, which added, “He’s held fast to that guiding principle since he took over the country-style French restaurant in 2006, when its original owner, Gerard Pain, retired. Now, Lumet is retiring too, and has sold the business to new owners. But he says La Chaumière will continue to stay true to its roots.” The new owners are French native Gil Fornaris and fellow industry veteran Mike Connelly.

SOON: GRECO TO MOVE INTO &PIZZA-AU PIED DE COCHON BUILDING

And first to report on Greco was Topher Mathews in his blog: “This month’s Old Georgetown Board materials hint at a new tenant for the historic Au Pied de Cochon space at Wisconsin and Dumbarton. Proposed signage for the space indicates that a Bostonbased Greek fast casual restaurant is coming. The restaurant is called Greco. And if you weren’t clear on what type of food Greco serves, the slogan helpfully clarifies that it’s ‘truly Greek.’

EMPTY PAOLO’S SPACE TO BECOME ALARA

The long shuttered Paolo’s Ristorante space, most recently High Street Grill, will become Alara, a Turkish restaurant by Hakan Ilhan. Meaning “beautiful water fairy” in Turkish, Alara will feature seasonal menus and wines with a focus on the four Mediterranean coastal nations of Turkey, Greece, Lebanon and Israel, according to Eater DC.

The prime restaurant space at 1303 Wisconsin Ave. NW is next to the newly opened Dig eatery, which took the smaller corner portion of the old Paolo’s, which closed in August 2018 after a 30-year run.

Among Ilhan’s extensive portfolio is Brasserie Liberté, one block away on Prospect Street — along with Al Dente on New Mexico Avenue and Il Piatto at Black Lives Matter Plaza. Alara is scheduled to open in March.

OUT: LUSH

Purveyor of hair and skincare products, makeup and other fresh, vegetarian body products, Lush has closed at 3066 M St. NW. In 1996, the first Lush shop opened in Vancouver, Canada. Today, it has 269 shops in North America.

OUT: KINTARO

Kintaro at 1039 33rd St. NW has closed its doors. The intimate sushi spot was 10 years old and never recovered from the loss of business during the pandemic.

OUT: BANGKOK JOE’S AT WASHINGTON HARBOUR

ICYMI (we did): Bangkok Joe’s at 3000 K St. NW has permanently closed. Its farewell note three months ago read, “Thanks, D.C. Dear Friends: We are saddened to announce Bangkok Joe’s permanent closure. We kindly thank all of our supportive past patrons and appreciate the opportunities we’ve had to serve in Georgetown, DC. It’s been an honor to have shared our cuisine for the past 20 years. With Love, Chef Aulie Bunyarataphan & Mel Oursinsiri.”

Bangkok Joe’s opened in 2003, home to the first “Dumpling Bar in the Nation’s Capital.”

BY KATE OCZYPOK

Cocaine Found At White House

The White House was evacuated for a short time over the July 4 holiday weekend while President Joe Biden was at Camp David. The incident happened after the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) found a suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing. Testing determined that the powder was cocaine. USSS agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they discovered the substance around 8:45 p.m. Fire and emergency crews were sent in to do testing and the White House reopened shortly thereafter.

FRENCH BULLDOGS STOLEN AT GUNPOINT, RECOVERED

Two French Bulldogs, 1-year-old Uno and 5-month-old Cartier, were stolen at gunpoint along V St. in SW D.C. Just before the poor pups were snatched, a suspect tried to take another dog but was unsuccessful. Surveillance captured the suspect and vehicle, and police offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest. The suspect was described as in his teens. On July 6, during their investigation, detectives from the Violent Crimes Suppression Division recovered the dogs and reunited Uno and Cartier with their family. The case remains under investigation.

D.C. HOME BUYERS PROGRAM OUT OF FUNDS

The District’s launch of a program for firsttime home buyers has run out of money. The program, which hoped to help with the frustrations of rising interest rates, housing costs, inflation and more, had its dollars yanked through the end of the budget year. Typically, funds trickle down toward the end of the cycle, but this year it’s much earlier. The D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development said the demand was so much greater this year, given the economy, budget pinch and other factors and called it “the perfect storm,” so they had to pause the program, saying they did “everything they could.”

Frederick Douglass Historic Home Reopens

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s home has reopened for the first time since 2020. The site, located at 1411 W St. SE, was forced to close due to the pandemic and subsequently underwent extensive renovations. A new HVAC system was installed which necessitated changing humidity levels, which could damage the historic paintings and finish on antique furniture. The new system will help preserve the thousands of items belonging to Douglass. Timed entry tours will be offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advanced tickets are encouraged and can be found at recreation.gov.

D.C. SOCCER FANS -- GET READY TO CHEER ALL NIGHT

Bars in the District can stay open 24/7 during the upcoming Women’s World Cup July 20 through August 20. The D.C. Council recently passed “The Women’s World Cup Emergency Amendment Act of 2023,” which allows participating bars to stay open 24 hours during the event. However, keep in mind that while they will be open, the bars can’t sell drinks between 4 and 6 a.m.

Agouridis’s Plan for Golden Triangle

BY KATE OCZYPOK

This year celebrates 25 years of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID), a 44-block area with nearly 6,000 businesses and around 200 restaurants with almost 34 million square-feet of office space. The Golden Triangle area is just steps from the White House and such D.C. landmarks as Farragut Square and Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Golden Triangle BID President and CEO Leona Agouridis has been along for the oftenwhirlwind ride. “Downtowns not only here but throughout the country and world are never going to be the same,” she said. “The central business district as we used to know it will no longer exist; it will re-emerge, it’s not dead, but it will re-emerge looking different.”

Agouridis, who is the child of a Greek immigrant father, loves the sense of idealism that her dad brought to the U.S. “I’ve been saying this a lot lately — we’re a local city, but also a national capital and a global leader,” she said. “We have an opportunity to redefine downtown in a way that acknowledges all of those things and embraces them too.”

As we continue to leave the pandemic behind us, The Golden Triangle is choosing to focus on a mixed-use business district. “It’s much more complex than just converting office buildings to apartments,” Agouridis added. “That’s important and a key part, but there’s also a way to infuse that with vision and aspiration.” getting input not only from the general public, but experts in their fields, as well as specialists from other cities, including in real estate, human services, arts and culture, retail, residential conversions and more. “That’s coupled with a pretty robust economic development analysis, looking at data to determine all of these ideas and which ones would be reasonable or feasible to put in place,” she added.

Along with the DowntownDC BID, Mayor Bowser’s office and the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development, and Federal City Council, the Golden Triangle BID is working on a Downtown Action Plan. You can read more about that plan at https:// www.reimaginedowntowndc.com/.

The analysis will take several months to mold together, but the plan is to deliver a report in late fall or early winter that will explain the highest impact projects and specific recommendations on how to move forward with them.

Agouridis has noticed more people on the Golden Triangle’s streets, recognizing that the city’s tourism is good this summer. “I do think residents are moving around the city more,” she added. “We’re close to Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, the West End and more — people can walk down here on their lunch hour or after work.”

She suggested visiting places like coffee shops in the Golden Triangle to work or visit when you need a work change of scenery. “I do think that we are a neighborhood, we don’t own homes, but businesses and buildings,” she said. “We can create a common vision that we can drive [forward], especially in conjunction with the government, that can bring people together in ways that others can’t. I think there’s a lot of power in that.”

Bars will be open 24/7 in D.C. for the Women’s World Cup July 20 through August 20.

Agouridis called the action plan a massive undertaking, and the organizations involved are

In her spare time, which Agouridis says she doesn’t have much of these days, she has taught group exercise in the past and keeps up with it now on her own, having taught classes in Zumba, kickboxing, body pump and more. She also has two grown children, Nick, 29, who just got engaged, and Elena, 25.