November 17, 2010 | 2:46 PM | By Anna
More about D.C.’s IHOP restaurants– here’s a piece about the life of Clarence Jackson Jr., whose son I interviewed yesterday for DCentric. Both men are co-owners of the new IHOP in Columbia Heights:
As a family, Jackson and his two sons, Tyoka and Clarence Jackson III, own the first IHOP franchise in Washington, D.C. at 1523 Alabama Ave., SE. They plan to open a second one in the North West neighborhood of Columbia Heights in October. “If I told you the beginning, you would think you already knew the ending,” said Tyoka of his father. “My father’s story is about overcoming odds. Owning D.C.’s first IHOP in southeast right at Alabama and Stanton is one of the odds.”…
“When we opened the store, we all bussed tables, washed dishes and cleaned toilets,” Clarence Jackson III, remembers. Monique, Jackson’s daughter, serves as kitchen manager and is known in the area for her special recipe for the restaurant’s Fish Fridays. Also on staff are Jackson’s nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
D.C. council chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray gloated over the eatery, which he hopes becomes a landmark. “Mr. Jackson, where do you think these people went before you built this store?” he asked on one of his recent visits to the Alabama Avenue IHOP.
Congress Heights resident Janetta Chambers, 45, answered the question.
Continue reading →
November 17, 2010 | 10:58 AM | By Anna
When our server walked up, she put this coaster down next to our coffee pot.
Yesterday, I visited the new IHOP in Columbia Heights. It was opening day and despite the oppressively gray sky and fat rain drops, the place was almost full. I reviewed the food and wrote about my first impressions, here.
At the end of my late lunch, Briana– the most pleasant server I have encountered this year– brought over her towering boss, Clarence Jackson. He was so tall that my neck cracked from looking up at him and I was relieved when he cordially asked if he could sit down. I immediately realized that this was the “cop” whom people had commented about online, who owned both this IHOP and the one in Southeast. Suddenly, I was much less worried about hordes of marauding teens Metro-ing up from Gallery Place to invade Columbia Heights. As Briana had merrily said earlier when I asked her about potential rowdiness, “See that 6’7″ man over there? He’s my boss. And he’s a police officer. We’re not worried.”
I asked Mr. Jackson how his newest endeavor’s first day was going.
“I am very pleased.”
He inquired about my meal (and was the sixth person to do so, at that point) and I told him the truth; that it was better than I had expected and that the service was wonderful, too.
Continue reading →
November 17, 2010 | 8:45 AM | By Anna
Good morning, DCentric readers! Before you leave your umbrella on the bus, enjoy some fresh links!
Condo residents fight for immigrant chief engineer they love – and need “I have 204 angels behind me,” Rua, 43, said as his teary-eyed wife, Liliana Rosario Rua, and his daughter, Andrea Rua, a freshman at Montgomery College, nodded. “No matter what happens, I am never going to forget what they did for me.” Even as anti-immigrant sentiment has swelled in large swaths of the country, many communities are willing to do battle for individual immigrants who have become part of their lives.” (The Washington Post)
Wal-Mart coming to D.C., says Tommy Wells “If Ward 6 D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells’s Twitter account is to be believed, Wal-Mart has signaled its intention to open at least one store, if not more, inside the District of Columbia. “Walmart’s coming to DC,” Wells tweeted shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday night. Technically, Ward 7′s Yvette Alexander may have been the first to break the news, though she was less specific in her tweet: “Big box retailer coming to Ward 7? Stay tuned!” (tbd.com)
Sources: Fenty holding up the budget process “Throughout his tenure, Fenty was known for sending budget proposals down at the last minute, leaving the council and the Chief Financial Office with little time to analyze the spending. Gray and Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown have said they have been meeting with the CFO to discuss the budget changes they’d like to make once they have the mayor’s budget in-hand.” (Washington Examiner )
November 16, 2010 | 5:05 PM | By Anna
Gautham Nagesh
I just got back from the new IHOP on Irving Street, here in Columbia Heights. Today was opening day, and our lovely server Briana told us that while the morning had been busy, the afternoon was much calmer. I’m sure the rain was to blame for some of that. Full review, after the jump.
Continue reading →
November 16, 2010 | 2:04 PM | By Anna
I can’t stop thinking about my last post, where I highlighted the powerful piece Amanda Hess wrote for TBD, about an anomalous block in Logan Circle which is struggling with the exact issues this blog was created to address: race and class. One block in a desirable neighborhood, where gentrification coexists with an affordable housing development was home to at least two victims of appalling, violent assaults, because of their race and sexual orientation– and in one case, the perpetrators did not live where they committed their crime. They were just hanging out there.
It’s depressing to consider, because when I usually talk to people in this city about gentrification, the most optimistic types hope for an arrangement which sounds…exactly like the 1400 block of R Street, where the affordable R Street Apartments sit next to more expensive homes, creating a neighborhood full of ethnic and economic diversity. Unfortunately, Amanda’s investigation uncovered intimidation and what sound like hate crimes at R Street Apartments, which leads me to wonder if affordable housing can coexist with market-rate real estate? If off-duty cops are afraid to walk on a certain block of R Street, why isn’t more being done to make it safe?
Continue reading →
November 16, 2010 | 11:24 AM | By Anna
dnewman8
I couldn’t stop reading this piece on gentrification and hate crimes in TBD:
The 1400 block of R has always seen more than its share of crime, and the building’s new low-flow showerheads have done little to douse that problem. “If there’s a report of a robbery, assault, anything of that nature in the area, the first place that officers will go is the 1400 block of R Street,” one D.C. police officer told me. “If I’m off-duty and walking by myself, I would walk five blocks out of my way to avoid that block.”
According to a search on the D.C. police website, the 1400 block of R Street records a crime rate two to three times that of the surrounding blocks…The block’s criminal element occasionally has priorities higher than financial gain. When Puntanen came to, he found his watch still on his wrist and his wallet and cell phone in his pocket. “The assault had nothing to do with money,” Puntanen says. “Obviously, I had no money. Everything I have is from the dump or from the corner or from the secondhand store. I have a 14-inch TV. I don’t even have a computer. No stereo,” he says. Stanley, too, was never robbed in his four months on R Street. “They only wanted one thing: To get the faggot white guy out of there,” Puntanen says.
November 16, 2010 | 8:45 AM | By Anna
Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were cringing at Monday Night Football, we were out gathering links!
Amid Montgomery’s affluence, plight of suburban poor worsens in downturn “Everyone I know is rich,” Willie said. “They have everything, and I have nothing. I’ve had these shorts for, like, three years.” He gestured down to his baggy black cargos. “I can’t afford to gain any weight or I’ll grow out of them.”…”We just bought a bike, they just bought an RV. We just paid our [utility] bill, they just got their house redone. It sucks,” he said.” (The Washington Post)
D.C. Swimming in Debt “Sure, the D.C. area is home to some of the richest counties in the country — Loudoun County, Va., is the wealthiest in the nation — but Washington, D.C., itself is swimming in debt. According the the Washington Business Journal, D.C. ranks high when it comes to costly household bills. Credit reporting company Experian found that Washington, Seattle and Baltimore top the list of highest average monthly bills. That includes a combination of credit card bills, car loans and mortgages.” (NBC Washington)
Barry seeks to enforce lifetime welfare cap “A stream of advocates testified against placing limitations on the cash allotments that needy families receive, arguing that families already in distress may fall into the abyss. But Mr. Barry said the D.C. program is broken and needs fixing because it may be “adding to the disintegration of the family…I consider myself liberal, someone who thinks government should step in when we can’t take care of ourselves,” said Mr. Barry, a lifelong advocate of the needy. “But this [welfare] program may be adding to the disintegration of the family.” (Washington Times)
November 15, 2010 | 6:29 PM | By Anna
turtlemom4bacon
The well-known red kettle.
This is unfortunate; ever since I was a little girl, I have associated red kettles and ringing bells with the holiday season. I won’t be hearing or seeing such things at my local Giant:
Ken Forsythe, spokesman for the Salvation Army National Capital Area Command, says that Giant Food of Maryland has reduced the number of hours and days that the group’s bell ringers will be able to be in front of the grocery stores.
The reduction of hours could have a huge impact on the Salvation Army’s ability to raise money, according to Forsythe.
“The Salvation Army has been partners with Giant Food stores for probably several decades or better,” says Forsythe.
He says that an estimated 45 percent of the funds raised during last year’s Red Kettle Drive came from bell ringers in front of Giant stores. [WTOP]
The Salvation Army will only be allowed to collect funds for one week in November and another in December. A spokesperson for Giant said something perfunctory about serving customers and being committed to the community. Apparently, the red kettles “hinder” the shopping experience. That’s a confusing reason to stop a decades-old tradition, though. If Giant were truly interested in the “experience” their stores provide, they’d focus on customer service, cleaner stores and courteous employees…but getting rid of a red kettle is probably easier and faster.
November 15, 2010 | 4:45 PM | By Anna
iwantamonkey
WMATA Bus Stop in Hyattsville, MD
Here’s a great post about how much the location of a bus stop matters. Poorly-located or -designed stops discourage riders from using the bus, unless they absolutely have to. Additionally, the fact that some malls don’t want bus stops on their property reinforces the “second-class” perception of that mode of tranpsort:
The result is to create additional burdens on those using the bus for shopping, requiring them to haul or push their purchases a significant distance to the bus stop, a process that would be particularly unpleasant in rain or snow (or, here in Vegas, when it’s 117 degrees), or for those with mobility issues.
When mass transit stops are systematically located in inconvenient or isolated areas, it disadvantages those who are dependent on public transportation and discourages others from choosing to ride rather than driving their own car, and reinforces a common perception of the bus, in particular, as an inferior form of transportation…
