Mr. Cho Comes to Washington
Cap Hill is percolating on over to its new coffee shop, Peregrine Espresso, the coffee shop formerly known as Murky Coffee. And guess who else was there? Mr. Murky himself, Nick Cho, who was locked out of the place back in November on account of about $427,000 in unpaid D.C. taxes. Peregrine’s owner (and former employee of Murky Cap Hill) Ryan Jensen says Cho came by Saturday to check the place out. Cho also stopped by pre-opening when Jensen got a delivery of mugs meant for his former boss (who still owns and makes national headlines from Murky Coffee in Arlington).
Jensen showed him around the new/old place, no hard feelings. “On some level there were a lot of dreams he had for this place, things that we wanted together…like streamlining this place and getting shiny new equipment, so he was happy for us,” says Jensen, who’s added some shiny new equipment, along with a new counter, cooler, and a newly designed interior with the help of local artist Amy Herbert.
The new look certainly distinguishes Peregrine from its shabby-chic predecessor, but Jensen and the four other Peregrine staffers who are Murky holdovers aren’t trying to distance themselves entirely from their alma mater. “Nick invested a lot into his employees,” Jensen says, adding that, in many ways, Cho was a father-figure to Murky’s baristas—a father who didn’t pay his taxes, but still.
—Rend Smith
5 Responses to “Mr. Cho Comes to Washington”
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September 4th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Can you say “dickish” re the reporter’s snideness in this article?
Yes, we get that Cho has mismanaged his paperwork. Yes, we get that he lost this place to the taxman. That said, he still has enormous respect on the culinary side of coffee things, and it’s obvious that Ryan is happy to have him checking things out, trying the coffee, etc.
BTW, I think you should recheck your figures on the amount of taxes owed - I believe it’s been adjusted downward quite a bit - could be wrong, but I believe it’s been reassessed.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Cho is a criminal & should be in prison right now.
Only in a corrupt, third world burg like DC would he be allowed to be walking around.
Arrest his sorry ass, convict him, & throw him in prison.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Should “father figures” have a age minimum that’s atleast 40 ?
September 7th, 2008 at 12:05 am
man, al gonzales has no idea what is going on. nick is a good guy. he committed no crime. he fell behind on his taxes. so did wille nelson and wesley snipes. and just like wesley snipes, nick will punch you in the junk. and i hope he does.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Not paying “trust fund” taxes is criminal and unethical. Nick Cho is lucky that he’s not in prison–yet. “FATHER FIGURE”?!?!? Are you kidding me?