DCist marks the one year anniversary of the fire that gutted much of Eastern Market. Apparently, the renovation project will be finished months and months behind the promised deadline of January 2009. So what’s stalling this project? The blogger notes several important issues and does a good job illuminating them. One biggie: Interest has faded.

Some of this can be attributed to the simple fact that we all just move on to the next big news story: the fight over the school closings, Banita Jacks, a crime spike, Sean Taylor, Nationals Park opening, the Mount Pleasant fire, etc.

But I also think that maybe—just maybe—people don’t really care about Eastern Market. Every other neighborhood seems to have a farmer’s market. And some of them are better–and actually sell local produce from local farmers–than the Cap. Hill mothership. If you can pick out a good cut of lamb or a tasty apple a few blocks from your front stoop, why bother with Eastern Market? Before the fire, Eastern Market was the place you took your parents.

So there are delays. And still, no one has figured out the actual cause of the fire.

D.C. Foodies has a nice little scoop on Murky Coffee, which City Desk has been following like a lost dog. It appears many of Murky’s assets have been bought by a local businessman who plans to open a coffee shop near the Big Chair in Anacostia. A little digging unearths the Big Chair Coffee Business Plan, put together by sole owner Ayehubizu Yimenu, who appears to live in Greenbelt, Md. Left a message for him, but here’s the deal:

• The coffeeshop will open at 2122 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE and plans to serve sandwiches, salads, and pastries. Customer base includes employees across the street at D.C. Lottery and the Taxicab Commission.
• It’ll be open Monday through Friday until 6 p.m., closed Saturday, and open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, “delivering superior service to a community other coffee shops do not operate in.” Indeed Big Chair Coffee counts as its only competition a carryout deli half a block away.
• Beverage prices will range from $1.64 (12 oz coffee) to $3.92 (20 oz latte). Beans will come from California Coffee Roasters. Cold sandwiches made in-house will go for $5.49, salads run to $6.29.
• There will be indoor and outdoor seating.
• Employees will include two managers and four to eight more workers. Free samples and a marketing blitz are planned for the neighborhood.

Photo by jgoldmania

Fisher today stands up for bags, free bags of any kind. Since Whole Foods is effectively getting rid of plastic bags today, the Post columnist argues that the question: “Paper or Plastic?” was a great conversation starter at checkout lines everywhere.

Fisher writes: “I’ve found that ever since ‘How are you?’ became so ubiquitous and so routinely ignored as entree to conversation with strangers, it has taken words such as ‘paper or plastic’ to shake people out of their blank stares on the cashier line. A small thing, to be sure, but I usually end up enjoying those brief exchanges with the supermarket workers, and I often learn something from overhearing the conversations ahead of me on the queue.”

Let us now all worry about Marc Fisher. Mr. Fisher, let me just say, you seem to be a really nice guy and a great journalist. You appear to have a lot of sources and enough time to attend games at your beloved Nationals Park. Surely, you must have great conversations outside of the checkout line. So chin up!

Maybe this is how Fisher gets his story ideas. Or maybe he just gets lonely waiting in those long lines. Maybe the Nats aren’t the universal citywide conversation starter like the Redskins are. Then again, maybe the loss of this question will actually make the lines move faster.

This past Saturday was National Record Store Day. So vinyl nerds and Yo La Tengo fans [OK they are the same] were finally given a special day to scuttle out of apartments, discover day light, and join the masses hungry for free shit, discounts and live in-stores.

The Day turned out to be more fun than seeing nerds in sunlight. It was actually more fun than all the pre-day hype.

The Day wasn’t necessarily aimed at the nerds. Nor was it pitched toward exposing the freeloaders to something they haven’t yet sendspaced.

The A-and-B listers called on to provide testimonials and flog the event have long ago started averaging three stars in Rolling Stone. In other words, we’re talking Paul McCartney and the Boss. Or they were as old-timey as Chuck Berry and Henry Rollins. Or they were Joe Satriani and the drummer from Flipper. Not exactly preaching to the ones who need converting.

I had worries that the whole thing was going to feel like one of those sermons the industry now provides late in the Grammy telecast. You’ve heard it before: the industry is dying, stop stealing music, etc. Even Metallica was participating. Or it would turn into an excuse for the industry to give away last year’s crap no one bought.

But this Day was aimed at the people the industry screws the most: the indie record store owners. If the music biz wants to save itself, they could do better than giving the stores a special day. The industry could stop giving sweetheart deals to the Big Boxes, and stop listing new records at inflated prices. At least on Saturday, the big labels paid attention to the little guy!

I was able to check out Smash and Crooked Beat. Both Adams Morgan stores were crowded and festive. Crooked Beat reported giving away all of its grab bags within an hour of opening up. Sales appeared brisk; the new releases seemed mostly sold out. It was great to hear the store crank up The Argument. So yeah, the nerds got to nerd out. And maybe the store got some new customers.

But now that the day is over, let the debates begin. One has started up over on our music blog.

–photo of Crooked Beat’s Bill Daly courtesy of mudsugar.com.

Prince of Petworth hears a rumor that a new CVS may open up on a Georgia Avenue lot near Princeton Street. This is the sight of the old Farmer’s Market. So no upgrade for sure. Some comments posted are extremely polite or even joyous. Which is a surprise because let’s face it: Is there a place more hellish than a CVS?

Still. A lot of good comments. Comments like: “My vote is for the empty lot” and the suggestion to replace the lot with a badminton court or “lazer tag arena.”

Who could be against Lazer Tag?

A few weeks ago, Mr. T in DC complained about the new crossing guards posted at the DCUSA’s Big Box Heaven in Columbia Heights. Mr. T writes:

In one sense, their deployment is a remarkable show of efficiency and planning by the DC government. In addition, the city repaved a bumpy stretch of 14th just north of Target, and laid down new crosswalk striping at some of the key intersections in the vicinity….

However, it seems to me the crossing guards are actually slowing things down for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The mere presence of people in the middle of the road, wearing bright yellow, waving arms, and blowing whistles is causing some hesitation, especially when they contradict the traffic lights. For pedestrians, they are slowing everyone down by insisting on strict but unrealistic compliance with the walk/don’t walk signals.”

I think Mr. T has a point. I know I hesitate just a little bit when turning on to my street. Hey! I don’t want to hit and/or piss off one of those whistle-blowing crossing guards! Still. At first the traffic wasn’t terrible with the new Target. It just meant that nearly every day felt like Sunday. Instead of churchgoers parking on my block, we have shoppers clutching huge reams of toilet paper.

The traffic has become terrible. I noticed with the opening of Best Buy, 14th Street NW became what we all thought it would–a huge headache. This past Saturday, a line of cars stretched from 14th and Irving to well past the old Giant. Basically, the traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see. It was around noon.

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Harris Teeter announced that it’s following right in line with Fenty’s plan (and fat tax incentives) to make NoMa a reality and not just a silly name used in press releases. In a press release, ‘Teet officials say they’ve actually been sizing up NoMa “for the past several years” and plan to open a full-service grocery at First and M Streets NE in the winter of 2010.

This will be the third Harris Teeter in the District, none of which are actually open. The first one, which as we all know was supposed to open on Kalorama in Adams Morgan two years ago, is now scheduled to open on April 26, according to a spokeswoman. She also said that the store going up on Jenkins Row in Capitol Hill will be ready by mid-May.

The NE store will spread out over 50,000 square feet on a single level of Constitution Square, most of which will be occupied by the Dept. of Justice. Also going in: 440 new apartments, the requisite “retail space,” and 150 parking spaces.

“It is quite unique for a high-end, full-service grocery store like Harris Teeter to commit to a new store so early in the development of an emerging neighborhood,” says Elizabeth Price of the NoMa BID. “You just have to look at how grocery stores have transformed neighborhoods in other parts of the District to realize the significance of this lease.” Cue our guy, Mr. Renaissance.

Beauty Island on Columbia Road is selling butt boosters for just $14.99. No need to spend thousands to perk up that flat little ass. This amazing store also sells a wide variety of wigs, affordable under things, tights and knee socks in every color, make-up, toiletries, toys, jewelry and contact lenses that can turn your brown eyes blue.

This from the annals of CP classifieds:

WANTED: T-shirts. Marc Jacobs & Michael by Michael Kors. Marc Jacobs: cream(?), short-sleeved(?), with an image of a person speaking w/ “cartoon” speech bubble. Any size, esp. XS or S. Michael Kors: RN: 111818, CA: 45885, cotton, sleeveless, v-neck/surplice. Looking for size XS or S.

Karen Mitchell, who submitted the ad, had this to say about it:

Great to hear from you! I got a little compulsive about the shirt with the picture and thought the ad was worth a try. I had already bought the second shirt, so I had the item number from the tag—exactly what I wanted for a favorite skirt, but I was between sizes—so I went to another store to look for a different size. I saw the cartoon-bubble shirt on the way to the door, thought about getting in line at the cash register and calling work to say I’d be a little late, told myself be sensible, walked out, and regretted it.

The cartoon-bubble shirt was love at first sight, illustrating interests in language, art, and pop art. I have a T-shirt with the Ethiopian alphabet, but it doesn’t give the same breadth of expression, and it’s enormous besides.

Can you help Karen out with her breadth of expression? And while you’re at it: Several years ago when I was living in NYC I saw a dude on the street with a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo for York peppermint patty, only in the middle of the circle, it said “Dork.”

It spoke to me with its breadth of expression. I can’t understand why.

Hank Stuever has a sweet–and honest–tribute to the Dupont 5, one of the last of the area’s cramped movie theaters. It is set to close this weekend. Stuever’s piece is a must read even for those who’ve never stepped inside its crummy confines. [My personal best time at the Dupont 5: seeing Wet Hot American Summer.]

The Examiner reports on the murders of the four girls found in that SE home. They had one tidbit–that the mother, Banita Jacks, took her kids to a homeless shelter in 2007.

Prince of Petworth captures some softcore lawn sculpture.

Even if D.C. ever really got enough snow to make a snowman, I have to wonder: Is there anything more pathetic than one that comes to life via Restoration Hardware?

To wit: Kit ($14.99) comes with “everything you need to dress Frosty in his finest,” including “coal” for the eyes and mouth, a “carrot” nose, three buttons, and a pipe, all carved of hardwood and mounted on skewers. While waiting for enough snow to hold your wood, keep your handcrafted items in the knit cap (surely not made in Sri Lanka). It doubles as a storage bag!

No need to search for stones and sticks. That’s for the kids in Ward 7.

Pfeiffer’s Hardware in Mount Pleasant has reshuffled its stock. The screwdrivers, which used to hang low, are now up higher, about seven feet from the ground. There’s a reason for that. “We noticed that they kept going missing,” says Pfeiffer’s General Manager Robert Larson. He doesn’t know how many screwdrivers disappeared during a spate of thefts last summer, but it was “a good amount. Enough for us to notice.”

The cops noticed, too. “From what the police told us, they were using them to crack into car trunks,” Larson says. Apparently, stealing screwdrivers is a gateway crime to a more serious form of larceny.

In addition to elevating the devices, Pfeiffer’s staff hung them on “locking pegs,” which make it difficult for customers to snatch and run. Larson says the thefts haven’t stopped altogether, but “it’s been a little tighter of a ship since last summer.”

I hate malls. I can never successfully buy anything in a mall, because the whole time I’m so distracted by thinking about how much I hate malls. I hate the chains. I hate the crowds. I hate the smell of the Body Shop. I hate the stuffy air. But I love boutique shopping (even if I can’t afford anything). I would much rather walk around outside, be helped by nice salespeople, and look at original clothing. The other day I stopped by Pop, one of my favorite stores. A sign on the door said that no teenagers were permitted unless accompanied by an adult. This is shocking. Where I come from, teenagers are the backbone of the retail industry. And, ideally, we should help cultivate teenagers’ tastes instead of exiling them to the Gap. (OK, they’re not exactly exiled, but what teenager wants to shop with her parents?) But at the same time, I do like shopping in peace. So, is this a smart move by Pop?

I’m a fan of the most e-mailed lists in the online versions of most newspapers. The lists provide a quick route around the top headlines (what editors think is important) to the stories readers enjoy.

Of course, when the people speak, crap sometimes settles to the top with the gems. Consider Sunday’s New York Times story on District elite shopping at Costco. The story nailed the top spot on the most e-mailed list on Sunday. As of this morning, it was hanging at number two.

The story, summed up, is this: Rich and influential Washington party folk buy wine, frozen Salmon and other stuff at Costco. Sometimes they serve it to their guests. How un-Camelot.

The story breaks off into snapshots of moneyed power folk and their Costco habits. There’s Sally Quinn, former Rumsfeld advisor Richard Perle, Vernon Jordan’s wife…all, gasp, buying in bulk.

Hey, that’s three people. It’s a trend. So in the great NYT trend story tradition, the writer waxes anthropological to explain the why of this amazing cultural shift. Perhaps it’s the result of rising oil prices and the crashed mortgage market? Or is Costco “reverse chic,” the Pabst of the power set?

Hard to know. Maybe they are just cheap, a few more examples of the well established frugal and rich phenomenon? I’ve lived in the area long enough to understand why Washingtonians might find this interesting. But the real mystery is why anyone else would care.

Ward 8 may not have any of those elusive “white tablecloth” restaurants, but it is now facing a possible glut of Subway franchises.

Last Tuesday, a Subway opened its doors in the building housing Councilmember Marion S. Barry Jr.’s old campaign headquarters on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Avenue SE. A press release touted it as the ward’s “First Franchise Restaurant,” but in fact, it is the chain’s second such outlet there; another Subway resides on Alabama Avenue SE.

The owner of the new Subway, though, emphasizes its ability to seat people—having enough tables and chairs for 10 customers—way more than the Alabama Avenue location can. “I think we could say that this is the first sit-down restaurant in Congress Heights,” argues the new franchise’s landlord Chito Peppler. The chain had much lower expectations: No seating, no customer bathroom, and a wall of bulletproof glass. Peppler convinced Subway honchos to include the seating and john and leave out the glass.

Subway owner Mohammad Rashid isn’t worried about the competition. “It’s far away, you know,” he says. “It’s not going to affect their business at all. It’s enough distance.”