Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tru Orleans (400 H St)

Tru Orleans a New Orleans-style restaurant plans to open at (400 H St).  The owner plans to renovate the existing building at 400 H Street into a New Orleans-style restaurant with an upstairs outdoor roof deck.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served; seating capacity will be approximately 150 people.  Patio seating along 4th Street is a future consideration.  The building will be in the style of a typical New Orleans establishment; the exterior includes extensive metal railing detail like those found in the French Quarter.  
The owner requested for a BZA variance from the floor area requirements, a variance from the off-street parking requirements, and a variance from the loading requirements to allow the renovation an addition to an existing one-story building at 400 H Street.  His application was supported by ANC6C and appears to have been approved.

As previously noted, there is a community meeting about Tru Orleans tonight at Toyland though the precise purpose of the meeting and status of the remains somewhat unclear.

20 comments:

  1. Wow! How did that one get sneaked past the neighbors over there? Nobody showed up at BZA to oppose this? Didn't their ANC commissioner notify them?
    What's the purpose of a meeting now after the horse is out of the barn?
    That balcony is going to be a community nightmare for the type of bar this company runs.
    The only hope now is the ABRA license but ANC6c might roll over on that too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What kind of bar does this company run? And what should have been opposed?

    ReplyDelete
  3. http://www.stadiumclubdc.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. My name is Jennifer Zatkowski. I am running for ANC Commissioner. I attended last night’s community meeting with the owners of Tru Orleans. At the meeting, several people expressed serious concerns regarding where patrons and employees would park. Our residential parking is scarce and precious and I understand these concerns.

    Tru Orleans stated they would encourage their employees to bike or take public transportation, would look into valet parking and would be monitoring the parking situation when they open. Tru Orleans offered to include these items in the Community Agreement.

    However, there is a solution that could mitigate some parking concerns that could be initiated by the ANC Commissioner. DDOT could be petitioned to conduct a transportation study and re-zone one side of the streets surrounding Tru Orleans. That way, one side of the street would be ONLY for Zone 6 sticker holders. In addition, the hours of parking enforcement may be extended until 10:30pm, including Saturdays. This would preserve at least some parking for residents.

    Our ANC shouldn’t rely solely on developers to address our neighborhood concerns. Rather, we need a Commissioner willing to offer solutions from within the ANC. If elected, I pledge to search for those solutions to maintain and improve our quality of life.

    I ask for your vote on November 2. Thank You.


    Jennifer Zatkowski

    ReplyDelete
  5. To Anon: The owner of Tru Orleans also owns the Stadium Club, which is a "gentlemen's club" with topless or otherwise adult-oriented entertainment. That does not mean Tru Orleans will be anything like the Stadium Club. Why would the owner open a new business that competed directly with his existing business?

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a sad, sad day for area residents. Why is this place seeking so many variances? Why can't they be forced to have living and retail space like every other business in the area? Why can't they have an entrance that fronts H? And why do they have to BUILD another floor when there are plenty of 2 and 3 story buildings (that would fit the look of New Orleans, I might add) that would meet their needs? Seems like a waste of time, space, and resources. If the owner doesn't like the zoning and laws that have made H Street what it is, he can take his business elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  7. sad sad day..give me a break..

    ReplyDelete
  8. Why would people living in a community not want more interesting and cool things? Sounds like old people with nothing better to do than complain about the youngsters.

    H Street is an amazing place and it needs to keep developing and it needs to get cleaned up a bit. New clubs, eats and sites will do this and encourage a change. If you're worried about parking, and live in the city, sell your car and ride metro/taxi/bike. If you can suggest that to people who work at H street, then they can suggest that to people who live at H Street.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Agree with the above! I love the new H st. area. So many cool, fun places for us young professionals to go out at, that isn't Dupont or Gtown. I'm really looking forward to this place and more to come! KEEP BUILDING H ST.!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. How would one apply for a job @ TruOrleans?

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Tracey Gray

    Try emailing them customers@truorleans.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I LOVE all these people lamenting that something like this is going in. As if H street was a gorgeous perfect street. Would you rather have another check cashing place? Another empty burned out building? This building was an ugly square block and now with the improvements, It is a beatiful Entrance to the NE section of H street. I swear, some of you people would have complained about the discovery of Pennicillian because it would ruin the look of infections.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My only point is that zoning exists for a reason, and this business could have gone in in a few blocks down the street "as is" without asking for special treatment (that disadvantages existing businesses that comply with the zoning requirements, btw) or adding a second floor. And while I sincerely hope that this business won't go the way of so many other businesses, I can see this re-design becoming an especially obnoxious abandoned eye-sore on the street, because who will want to buy such a specialized facade with a now-large footprint? The scale and scope of this project emphasizes that Tru never stepped foot in a half-empty H Street restaurant on a Tuesday afternoon, or any H Street restaurant, for that matter. Respect the neighborhood that you're about to ask to support your business venture, that's all I ask.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think this is great for H St. I just moved the area recently and was happy to see them trying to build up that dead looking area that has potential to be one of the premier areas of DC. I don't think this place can do it alone though. H St still has a lot of cleaning up to do, and they need to keep building around these places for them to be successful

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well said, Cambel. WELL SAID! My wife and I live in the neighborhood, and we're excited to see a nice place go in on our end of H Street. We'll continue walking to Liberty Tree and The Argonaut, but it'll be nice to have TruOrleans only a couple blocks away.

    Regarding the neighborhood's old guard, you just can't make certain people happy. I'll never figure it out. Perhaps they need a hug or something. BTW, these are the same people who make someone else's business their top priority to know... yet another phenomenon I'll never ever understand.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dirty bartender stuck straw in drink and sipped it before he serves drinks, claims he always test everbody drinks (nasty ) no a come back to place

    ReplyDelete
  17. Placing a straw in a cocktail and removing a small portion of the drink in the straw to taste is a common technique used in bars to ensure proper execution of the cocktail. If done properly, there's nothing dirty about it and it doesn't make the person who does it dirty either.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dirty Bartender?? How RUDE are you !! I am in total agreement with H Street's response.

    ReplyDelete
  19. NICE CHANGE. ALOT OF GRUNGE BARS ON H STREET, I LOVE THE DIVERSITY OF NEW ETHNIC RESTAURANTS. GREAT ADDITION!

    ReplyDelete