Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B held a hybrid meeting via Zoom and in-person at 700 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Attending were Frank Avery (6B01, treasurer); Jerry Sroufe (6B02); David Sobelsohn (6B03, secretary); Chander Jayaraman (6B06); Vince Mareino (6B07, vice chair); Edward Ryder (6B08, chair); and Matt LaFortune (6B09). Frank D’Andrea (6B04) was not present. 6B05 is currently vacant.
Café 8 (424 Eighth St. SE) requested a substantial change to their current alcohol license at the Dec. 10 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B. Café 8 purchased the adjacent building in 2022 and renovated it over the next year. They would like to increase seated capacity from 88 to 180.
The ANC has a signed settlement agreement (SA) and Security Plan (SP). The latter requires patrons to be seated and has provisions for sound and DJ music. It also uses a system similar to that introduced at As You Are Bar (500 Eighth St. SE), wherein entertainment stops an hour before closing and alcohol sales 30 minutes before closing, to facilitate staggered guest departure.
Since Nov. 27, the Barracks Row bistro, hookah bar and lounge has required that patrons entering after 8:30 p.m. be aged 30 or older.
ANC Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Committee (ABC) Chair Chander Jayaraman (6B06) said the business has indicated that they are moving towards a model that is less entertainment and dance heavy to more of a sit-down establishment and thus it wants to attract an older crowd.
Café 8 representative Elis Sam said that staff had experienced challenges with younger patrons, adding that she understood other District establishments are taking similar action in light of situations involving firearms and robbery.
She added that Café 8 announced the change on social media to overwhelming positive response. By the Dec. 10 meeting the limit had been in place for about two weeks.
Asked about the legality of the restriction during the Dec. 3 ABC meeting, Sam said an ABCA licensing specialist told her that because it was a private establishment, there was no objection to setting a higher age limit than 21. On Dec. 10, she told the ANC the café had gotten similar from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The ANC voted unanimously to the application.
Public Safety Committee Chair Honored
ANC 6B honored the founding Chair of their Public Safety Committee, Lisa Matsumoto, presenting her with the ANC6B Distinguished Public Service Award.
The award was presented in recognition of high levels of expertise, responsiveness, consistency and overall dedication to our community, said ANC 6B Chair Edward Ryder (6B08). “This recipient has helped not only the commissioners of ANC 6B, but also the Ward 6 community at large.”
Matsumoto chaired the committee from its founding through July, as the brand-new committee found identity and purpose “[helping] it find its mission and really achieve quite a lot,” Ryder told her.
The ANC 6B Public Safety Committee was established in January 2023. The committee has facilitated practical discussions between the community and officials in the public safety system, including US Attorney for DC Matthew Graves and then-Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Lindsay Appiah. On Nov. 14, they co-hosted a District-wide virtual conversation around gun violence reduction strategies in the District.
The current chair is outgoing ANC Commissioner Frank Levy (6B01). A new chair will be selected in 2025. Matsumoto remains a resident member.
Created by a vote at the Oct. 13, 2020 meeting of the ANC, the ANC Distinguished Public Service Award acknowledges the outstanding contribution by a DC public servant in furthering the work of the commission and its individual commissioners.
Popeyes Switches Trash Room to Rest Room
The ANC voted unanimously to send a letter to the Department of Buildings (DOB) requesting an exception to the restroom code on behalf of Popeyes (409 Eighth St. SE).
Working with the community during the summer, the restaurant had agreed to indoor trash storage in their SA. ANC 6B and adjacent neighbors have emphasized indoor trash storage for restaurants on Barracks Row as part of rodent mitigation.
However, DC Code requires restaurants with more than five employees to have multiple restrooms. This fall, DOB halted construction on the restaurant to force compliance, compelling the restaurant to convert the space allotted for indoor trash into a restroom.
Exceptions are permitted under the DC building code for small occupancy structures.
The ANC Voted to :
• A letter to DC Council indicating for the funding of Initiative 83.
• A letter to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) asking the agency to prioritize a traffic safety inspection of pedestrian safety at the crosswalk on the south side of Lincoln Park where 12th Street SE meets East Capitol Street. The letter also urges DDOT to meet a previous commitment to eliminate a parking spot at the site in order to improve pedestrian visibility.
By-Law Discussion Deferred to New Commissioners
The ANC deferred consideration of amendments to bylaws to the January meeting to allow newly-elected commissioners to weigh in. The following newly elected commissioners will be sworn in Jan. 2, 2025: Tyler Wolanin (6B01), Brian Gorman (6B04), Samuel Pastore (6B05), Anna Krebs (6B06) and Karen Hughes (6B09).
ANC 6B generally meets the second Tuesday of each month except August. The next regular meeting of the full ANC will be a hybrid online and unperson meeting held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. See calendar and get information on how to at anc6b.org
