Wednesday, a fire ravaged the Georgetown sister restaurants Hook and Tackle Box. In a media statement, owner Jonathan Umbel said they'll be closed indefinitely. Tim Carman of the Washington Post talked to Umbel and found out that Hook is worse off—there's a hole in the roof over part of the kitchen, and the dining room suffered water and other damage. Umbel told Carman he hopes Tackle Box can be up and running "within the month." No one was injured in the fire, whose cause is still undetermined.
In more fire news, Clarendon Patch reports that alarms went off at the Delhi Club yesterday morning. The cause at the Indian restaurant was a light bulb that exploded, resulting in kitchen damage. Manager Mir Hussain told Patch, "We will reopen soon. Right now it's hard to tell when." The Delhi Club and Hook/Tackle Box incidents come on the heels of last week's fire at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill. (WTOP reports that that bar, a Hill institution, will likely be closed until the end of summer.)
Missy Frederick of the Washington Business Journal tells us that the Yards area at approximately Fourth and M streets, Southeast, is due for some big development in the next couple years. The biggest news is that Neighborhood Restaurant Group (Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, Tallula, Vermilion, Rustico) will open a third Buzz Bakery and a craft brewery. Other food tenants include Potbelly and Austin Grill Express.
Warren Rojas of Northern Virginia Magazine reports that Tallula executive chef Barry Koslow is leaving the restaurant next Tuesday. The split with Neighborhood Restaurant Group is amicable; Koslow told Rojas he's looking to take some personal time and doesn't have any immediate plans for a next move. Tallula hasn't hired a replacement yet.
A couple closings to report this week: Yesterday, TenPenh ended an 11-year run in downtown DC after it couldn't come to agreements with its landlord. Prince of Petworth tells us that the frozen-yogurt shop Tangysweet in Dupont Circle is shuttering July 31, but the Penn Quarter outpost will remain open. Food Matters in Alexandria, a combined restaurant and market, closed last Sunday, according to the Washington Business Journal. As of now, there are no plans to reopen. Delhi Dhaba on Bethesda Row is closing after 18 years in business. A co-owner told Carole Sugarman of Bethesda Magazine that a new lease on the property is too expensive.
A former paint store at 15th and P streets, Northwest, is set to become a second location of the Capitol Hill Mexican restaurant Tortilla Coast, and nearby residents aren't happy about the proposed hours—Sunday through Thursday until 2 AM, Friday and Saturday until 3 AM—and outdoor seating. Prince of Petworth has a copy of a letter signed by "Residents of 1418 15th Street NW and concerned neighbors" that lists ways to protest the restaurant, as well as "a few pieces of information to consider that will help our cause."
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