INS & OUTS BY RO B E RT DEVA NEY
COMING: TACQUERIA IN DEAN & DELUCA SPACE
District Bodega, a tacqueria serving fresh Mexican cuisine, is planning to move into the former D.C. home of Dean & DeLuca at 3276 M St. NW, with seating on part of the ground floor, the mezzanine level and outdoors. It will also sell sundries and household items found in bodegas. The Artists & Fleas multiple-vendor market, announced previously, will occupy the rest of the space. Maximum capacity, seated and standing, will be 100 inside and, in summer, 100 outside. The restaurant’s liquor license application was recently approved (with the customary protest) by the GeorgetownBurleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
IN: CAFE AMA - WITH MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL
Angelique Sina recently opened Cafe Ama at 1101 30th St. NW, selling coffee from Puerto Rico. President of Friends of Puerto Rico, Sina is eager to get to know her neighbors. Here is her Mother’s Day special: “Mia Isabella is an 11-year-old student entrepreneur from Aibonito that designed Mother’s Day cards to inspire all of us that might not be able to hug our mothers on their day. Mia is a student from our SEEDS youth entrepreneurship program and she gains skills as a pathway out of
BUSINESS poverty through our coffee. She has created a Mother’s Day edition with her cards and a Café Ama bag.” All sales will support the SEEDS program for women and children in Puerto Rico.
FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY: J. CREW, NEIMAN MARCUS
Preppy apparel chain J.Crew has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Under the terms of the filing, its main creditors are set to take control of the group in exchange for canceling debts of $1.65 billion, the BBC reported. J.Crew’s 500 stores are temporarily closed, but many may never reopen. Prepping for bankruptcy protection, famed Dallas-based retailer Neiman Marcus has been forced to close its 43 locations, plus 24 Last Call and two Bergdorf Goodman stores, according to Reuters. Having furloughed thousands of employees, the 113-year-old company is working on the final phases of negotiating a loan with creditors.
OUT: STARBUCKS AT 3122 M
The Starbucks coffee shop at 3122 M St. NW has permanently closed (the HäagenDazs ice cream store remains open next door). Alternative locations: 3347 M St. NW, 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW, on the Georgetown University campus and in the Georgetown Safeway.
A Tip of the Hat to Proper Topper BY STEPH AN IE GR EEN In its 30th year, Proper Topper is more than a hat shop; it’s become a sorority of sorts. As she plans the store’s anniversary year, Anna Fuhrman, who founded the original in Union Station, says she’s most looking forward to celebrating “the friendships that were sparked.” After store closures, store openings and a current chemotherapy regime, Fuhrman is still propping and topping — no small feat in the turbulent world of Northwest D.C. commercial real estate. Back in 1990, Fuhrman was an Oklahoma native who had landed a job with Amtrak after graduating f r o m Georgetow n Law. From the cozy environs of her Cathedral Commons location, she reflects on how different Union Station was back then, a bustling hub of tourists and commuters eager for retail opportunities. Today there’s everything from H&M to Magnolia Bakery, but three decades ago she saw an opening at the station, particularly for women. She conceived of a fun hat shop
project and the first Proper Topper was born, followed by a Georgetown location near her home on P Street. Today, Proper Topper operates out of Dupont Circle and its latest iteration at Cathedral Commons, where Fuhrman relies on her network of National Cathedral School parents and students. Young women whose mothers once worked for the shop are regulars now. “We used to sell scrunchies, and now the kids are looking for them,” she says. As for hats, you can still find the perfect cloche or garden-party variety, but the shop is a girlygirl’s paradise, with candles, jewelry, headbands and plants — the gift shop that keeps on giving you gift ideas. Fuhrman explains that, with online shopping edging out small businesses, she leans into her senses when creating the shopping environment. The shop has a “secret garden” feel, complete with such touches as inspirational quotes on the windows and French jazz. It’s a “feels nice, smells nice” way to shop, she says. In other words: the anti-Amazon. She’s also proud of the merchandise she’s developed for her adopted hometown, like the “I Heart My Swamp” T-shirts and other pieces advocating D.C. statehood. Fuhrman’s dream is to one day be back in Georgetown, which she still calls home. We are looking forward to welcoming her — and even the scrunchies — back with open arms.
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MAY 6, 2020
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