11.23.2010

More on the Proposed "Rail Station Lounge" at 2001 Benning Rd

On November 18, 2010 I had an informative conversation with one the owners (Genea Garcia) of the Rail Station Lounge, LLC.  Ms. Garcia explained the business plan with me for the whole property at 2001 Benning Road NE Washington, DC 20002.


l    Rail Station Lounge will be located in the lower level
l    Vegetarian Café on the store front level
l Upscale Hair Salon also on the store front level
l    Office Spaces on the upper level


Ms. Garcia stated that Rail Station Lounge will cater to a mature audience. They want it to be along the lines of Blues Alley in Georgetown. The capacity of the lounge will be 200 maximum: Seating Capacity-106 people and Standing Capacity-94 people. They want to tap into the H St/Benning Road development.


I raised several questions about parking, times of alcohol consumption, types of music and acts at the venue. Ms. Garcia stated that parking will not be an issue.  They are in the process of negotiating parking with local parking lots in the areaAlcohol will be consumed from Sunday through Saturday 6pm-2am. Some of acts that the venue is attracting: Poetry Slams, Kyonte (Neo-Soul) and Marcus Johnson (Jazz & Instrumental).


Ms. Garcia also stated that she was open to meeting with the community to give an overview of their business plan.  A meeting will be set up in the near future between this business and the community so all parties can express their concerns.


To my knowledge, our current ANC Commissioner, Veronica Raglin, did not respond in time to the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Petition Date on November 15, 2010.  There is a Hearing Date on November 29, 2010 at 10:00am-1250 U Street, NW 2nd Floor, Suite 2000 Washington, DC 20009. I will be attending this hearing.  HERE is more information about the Rail Station Lounge ABRA Class 'C' Tavern License application.


If anyone have any questions, comments or concern; please feel free to contact me.


Best,


Lisa White
Elect ANC Commissioner SMD 7D01
(202) 706-4713
dc500blkof25th@yahoo.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cautiously, this sounds like good news to me-- a "blues alley" type venue would be unbelievable on Benning Road. The owner would need to keep a tight reign on the place, though.