The Hive - Coming This Month

The Hive is coming to main street Anacostia (2027 MLK), and it's opening later this month. What is it? The name says a lot: a place buzzing with creative energy. More specifically, The Hive is a creative and shared workspace for freelancers, satellite offices, and small businesses.



Why join? A lot of you work for yourself yet don't have a great place to "legitimize" the business side of it. Having a place where you can fax & print, hold meetings, and get out of the house is an important way to boost business.

What's available at The Hive? (all services not available at all membership levels)

• Professional Receptionist
• Phone with voicemail
• Free High Speed cable Internet access
• 16 hours a Month Free Conference Room Access
• Fully equipped break area
• Video Conferencing Capability
• Mail and package delivery
• Receiving e-faxes and local e-fax sending
• Dedicated off Street car parking at monthly rate of $75. Hybrid cars $60 a month

Space at The Hive is available at three levels: Full Member (private offices, only one still available), Shared Space, and Virtual Memberships.

Full Member - ($525-575/month)
This option works for individuals and companies who need a dedicated work space, but do not need a full office suite. This option provides the general infrastructure for an organization to carry out its day-to-day operations. Full members have 24-hour, 7-days-a-week, and 365-days a year use of the facility.

Shared Space - ($400/month)
The shared member option is for those who spend a good portion of time outside of the office, yet also require an office space. With this option, individuals or organizations have a desk space and a voicemail. Shared members have 24/7/365 access to the building.

Virtual Member - ($250/month)
The virtual option is for professionals with full-time jobs or those that work out of their homes and but are interested in having a space as a receiving point for packages and mail as well as a company meeting point. Virtual Members may use the common areas and resources) of The Hive.

For more information, download the full Hive membership info page here and go to the Hive's not-quite-ready website at www.theDChive.com

Yes! Organic Market Opening Tomorrow!

I haven't blogged much (if at all) about the new Yes! Organic Market opening tomorrow in on Pennsylvania Avenue in Fairlawn, Anacostia's neighbor to the north, because well, it's in Fairlawn and this is a blog about Anacostia. However, it's big enough news and close enough by to make it bloggable. Folks, we officially have good produce, organic dog food, and Fig Newmans in River East!



Owner Gary Cha was kind enough to give me a sneak preview of the new store - the only organic grocer east of the Anacostia River, and the first (of I hope at least a few) Yes! Organics on this side of town.

This market is noticeably larger than both the Capitol Hill and Brookland locations (although apparently similar to Georgia Ave store), and is much more spacious than I expected. Although not the same size as a Whole Foods, this store carries many of the same products and is remarkably comparable!



The first thing you encounter upon walking in is the produce: heaping bushels of peaches, heirloom tomatoes, kiwis, and avocados. It's shockingly awesome to see the colors and the freshness light up the displays.



Because Yes! Organic is committed to only serving fresh produce, it was the last to arrive and will not be completely stocked until just hours before tomorrow's grand opening.









You won't find Skippy on these shelves - the peanut butters are natural, and the bread comes in more colors than white. And check out the cheese selection!





I'm a huge fan of Naked brand juice, so this got me pretty stoked. They also have President Obama's favorite Honest Teas well stocked.







Like most grocery stores, this one carries more than just food - things like toiletries, paper goods, soaps and lotions. And yes, even great quality pet foods.





The refrigerated and freezer aisles are located towards the back of the store, and seriously people, this store has it all: soy milks (and almond, rice, cow, etc) galore, Ciao Bella sorbets and gelatos (and shelf upon shelf of other dairy treats), and tons of yogurt.







Tofurkey.



One of the coolest features of this market is the bulk foods section: flax seed, dried beans, dried fruit, lentils, rice, and even candy. I found owner-in-training Jodie making sure that each of the machines was properly working.







One of the key items missing east of the river is good quality snack food. There are a countless number of places to grab a bag of cheetos and a bottle of blue juice, but this adds something new: whole grains, gluten free options, and stuff that tastes good but is a few steps healthier.





Located at the foot of Pennsylvania Avenue's rise into Wards 7 & 8, the Fairlawn Yes! Organic Market will be a very welcome addition to the greater neighborhood. Grand Opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for tomorrow, August 31, from 2:30-5:30PM. The store will have its first full day on Wednesday, September 1st.

Vivid Solutions = Awesomeness

So you've heard of Vivid Solutions, the crazy awesome digital print lab and photo gallery on MLK, right? Well, now you have.



Located at 2208 MLK Ave SE, Vivid Solutions is one of the businesses / art spaces that is pushing Anacostia into the cool category, and in a very legitimate way.

Here's a video about Vivid that DC Arts & Humanities put together:



Seriously, if you are a photographer or just a shmoe like me (who just had some iPhone photos printed there), check this place out.

From their website:

It is the only lab in the U.S. to offer the “Digigraphie” printing process created by EPSON in France. Digigraphie is a unique, authentic printing technique which sets a standard for precise color management of prints and reproductive works, currently used by many European photographers, galleries, and museums.

The lab achieves the highest technical performance from its Epson printers which utilize UltraChrome pigment inks combined with Epson fine art papers. Ultrachrome inks offer optimum print quality for beautiful, eye-catching archival photographs guaranteed for 80+ years.

Vivid Solutions is friendly, its tech is crazy up-to-date, and it's a beacon for what the neighborhood is evolving into.

Follow Vivid on twitter: @VividPrintLab

Hours:

Tuesday - Friday noon to 5PM
Saturdays 11AM – 5PM

Contact:

Andrea Hope, Director of Digital Production
Email - ahopearchdc@gmail.com
Phone - (202) 758-0339

the neighborhood supermarket

this new sign was just installed in December

Anacostia gets a lot of attention for being a "food desert". We often hear about how Safeway moved out, how McDonald's moved out (thank goodness), and the perception of it being easier to cross over to Capitol Hill or even Arlington to shop than to anything in our general neck of the woods.

we share a sort of bond over here in River East - perceived lack of services, bad reputations, unknown-ness... to the point where even a full-service grocery store within the bounds of actual Anacostia is overlooked as not real enough to get a mention.


much bigger than a corner convenience store

Enter the Anacostia Warehouse Supermarket. Located at the corner of Good Hope and 14th, the store is in the old Safeway space and carries pretty much everything for not-unreasonable prices.

there's a sort of 1970s retro style on the inside... (okay, this place could pass for a period movie set)


there's even a guy (viewable through the window) who prepares the selection of fresh-cut meats


loving the old school wax polish reference


yogurt, milk, eggs, somewhat obscured by a giant banner

...but ignore the browning ceiling tiles and wood-veneer paneling and focus on the fresh produce and surprisingly good selection all around.


i was most surprised to discover the wide selection of produce


and the general freshness, despite not-awesome interior decor

To state the obvious, this isn't a corporate owned and operated grocery store. The inside could use a redo (although I'd hate to lose the mod timewarp), but this is a true local business that's pretty great for what it is.

full disclosure: I had never stepped inside until I was touring Tufts University professor Parke Wilde around the neighborhood last fall and he suggested we stop inside. His write-up and other interesting food posts can be found on his U.S. Food Policy blog.

photos by DG-rad

What Ever Happened to Drake's?

Proposed location, photo by DG-rad

Last October the news was in blogs and local papers: a sit-down restaurant was coming to historic Anacostia. This was news because there wasn't a restaurant of that quality in the neighborhood, despite many residents' eagerness to spend their money within walking distance. And this is still the case.

Most notably, there was a feature article in the Washington Business Journal proclaiming the arrival of Drake's Restaurant & Lounge at the corner of MLK and Good Hope, a new American-style sit-down restaurant and sports bar where, among other conveniences, people could come for Sunday brunch.


promo handouts, photo by DG-rad

But that was last October, and the article noted that the establishment, created by Anacostia resident Drake Wilson, should be opened by the end of 2006.

"It's a neighborhood where carryout restaurants dominate the sidewalks and the hype that builds up for coming retail attractions often is followed by letdowns." -WBJ

Should we be expecting another letdown? Is Drake just waiting for this area to see some more revival before he invests more? Or is this site part of the larger Anacostia Square project, as it appears to be in early renderings?


interior, notice the old "Anacostia" scripted sign, photo by DG-rad

I wrote an email asking about the progress to the address listed on the still-active Drake's website, but as of a couple weeks, no response. I'll continue to dig, but if anyone has information about Drake's, please comment away!

the Honfleur Gallery is one of the crown jewels of historic anacostia. Located at 1241 Good Hope Rd SE, the gallery is situated across the street from the under-construction Anacostia Gateway project. It doesn't announce itself in any loud way from the street, but instead invites the casual walker-by in with clean lines and whitewashed walls.

NPR recently aired a story featuring the Honfleur that includes interviews and a commentary on the changing neighborhood. Listen Here

I had the pleasure of attending the opening of "Anacostia Exposed" last month. The show is composed of black and white photographs of the neighborhood and its residents by a Northern Irish artist, accompanied by inspired poetry by local poets and students. The evening was closed with about an hours worth of poetry readings in the gallery's second floor.

let's just say it was brilliant, and renewed my faith in the DC arts community. Definitely check out the Honfleur.

photo portion of graphic courtesy of flickr user photo_obscura