City Winery closing due to crime in Ivy City

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In nbc news 4 12/16 article

“According to D.C. police data, in the half-mile radius surrounding City Winery in Ivy City overall crime is up 16% in 2022. Property crime rose by 14% and violent crime by 38% compared to last year.

Police described the majority of the violent crimes as assault with a dangerous weapon, like shootings, stabbings and armed fights.”

Pesky facts getting in the way of OPs narrative.

What are you talking about. I’m OP and I think it’s a shame that crime is like this. All the other head in the sanders came in after me.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is a convenient excuse. Do the other restaurants right there have the same problems? Couldn't they increase security patrols?

Weird venue, strange name, mixed bag of bookings - and also a whole lot more places to see live music in DC than there once was. They say they will reopen in a new location but I doubt it.

+1. Sure, Ivy City works against them, but this is a classic example of a national chain that just can't hang in a market that's as competitive as DC. Our strong preference for homegrown businesses is to our credit, and it distinguishes us from a lot of more middling cities that are the bread and butter of chains like this. I don't think they'll do much better even if they suddenly come across a great space in a more convenient part of town.

A little off topic but where are all these new, better, homegrown music venues that you and a PP speak of? Besides 9:30 club, who would book Sierra lFerrell? Or a Colter Wall?

Off the top of my head, some possibilities in the rough size range of City Winery: The Hamilton, Pearl Street Warehouse, Union Stage, Capital Turnaround, Songbyrd, The Birchmere, The State Theater. If you want to go a bit larger than City Winery (closer to the 9:30 Club size), there's also the Lincoln and Howard theaters and Strathmore. There are also venues that only do occasional shows like Sixth and I or the Miracle Theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just in Ivy City at Other Half Brewing (which is a great place, btw). It’s like any other sketchy but changing part of DC. The lack of bus service is the real downside. I would go there much more often if there was a bus/circulator route.

Lol bus. Have you heard of taxis?

Lol taxis.

[Anonymous]

I was a regular there and liked it, once you avoided the crack-heads driving there and circumvented them to get inside.It really was disturbing, but it never disappointed once inside. The food was decent, the musicians booked were gems, very intimate performances.i am sure it was also hard to recover from COVID closings. It is a shame.

[Anonymous]

The article says Dorf will look for another dc location, do you think that will happen?

[Anonymous]

You guys are ignoring that a successful nightclub was in that space for idk, at least a decade? Crime was the same or worse than I’m sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just in Ivy City at Other Half Brewing (which is a great place, btw). It’s like any other sketchy but changing part of DC. The lack of bus service is the real downside. I would go there much more often if there was a bus/circulator route.

Lol bus. Have you heard of taxis?

Lol taxis.

Ok, then ride shares. They sorta do the same thing in the same way, no?

Or there's THE BUS. wtf takes WMATA buses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is a convenient excuse. Do the other restaurants right there have the same problems? Couldn't they increase security patrols?

Weird venue, strange name, mixed bag of bookings - and also a whole lot more places to see live music in DC than there once was. They say they will reopen in a new location but I doubt it.

+1. Sure, Ivy City works against them, but this is a classic example of a national chain that just can't hang in a market that's as competitive as DC. Our strong preference for homegrown businesses is to our credit, and it distinguishes us from a lot of more middling cities that are the bread and butter of chains like this. I don't think they'll do much better even if they suddenly come across a great space in a more convenient part of town.

A little off topic but where are all these new, better, homegrown music venues that you and a PP speak of? Besides 9:30 club, who would book Sierra lFerrell? Or a Colter Wall?

Off the top of my head, some possibilities in the rough size range of City Winery: The Hamilton, Pearl Street Warehouse, Union Stage, Capital Turnaround, Songbyrd, The Birchmere, The State Theater. If you want to go a bit larger than City Winery (closer to the 9:30 Club size), there's also the Lincoln and Howard theaters and Strathmore. There are also venues that only do occasional shows like Sixth and I or the Miracle Theater.

THANK YOU. my newly-moved-here 20-something son thanks you, too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are ignoring that a successful nightclub was in that space for idk, at least a decade? Crime was the same or worse than I’m sure.

Crime was WAAAYYY worse when Dream and Love were open. The place sucked. The food was terrible. Sound was terrible. They were slow. We stopped going. We couldn't take it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are ignoring that a successful nightclub was in that space for idk, at least a decade? Crime was the same or worse than I’m sure.

Love was SUCH a thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are ignoring that a successful nightclub was in that space for idk, at least a decade? Crime was the same or worse than I’m sure.

You guys are ignoring that a venue that catered to a completely different crowd used to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is a convenient excuse. Do the other restaurants right there have the same problems? Couldn't they increase security patrols?

Weird venue, strange name, mixed bag of bookings - and also a whole lot more places to see live music in DC than there once was. They say they will reopen in a new location but I doubt it.

+1. Sure, Ivy City works against them, but this is a classic example of a national chain that just can't hang in a market that's as competitive as DC. Our strong preference for homegrown businesses is to our credit, and it distinguishes us from a lot of more middling cities that are the bread and butter of chains like this. I don't think they'll do much better even if they suddenly come across a great space in a more convenient part of town.

A little off topic but where are all these new, better, homegrown music venues that you and a PP speak of? Besides 9:30 club, who would book Sierra lFerrell? Or a Colter Wall?

Off the top of my head, some possibilities in the rough size range of City Winery: The Hamilton, Pearl Street Warehouse, Union Stage, Capital Turnaround, Songbyrd, The Birchmere, The State Theater. If you want to go a bit larger than City Winery (closer to the 9:30 Club size), there's also the Lincoln and Howard theaters and Strathmore. There are also venues that only do occasional shows like Sixth and I or the Miracle Theater.

THANK YOU. my newly-moved-here 20-something son thanks you, too

Bethesda Blues and Jazz is way better than City Winery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fox5dc.com/news/city-winery-dc-relocating-due-to-crime-in-ivy-city.amp

I spent a lot of time in Ivy City at the beginning of its revitalization. The big problems are that there’s a men’s shelter that doesn’t let people in during the day, so the alley becomes a de facto day shelter/waiting room, which isn’t a problem on its own and is fairly self-policed but comes with some trash and other nuisance behavior. Then there is spillover crime from the neighborhood and Trinidad. Plus some muggings.

There was a recent shooting but it’s much more likely that City Winery is just not finding the location to be commercially viable and they’re using this as part of getting out of their lease or whatever. It doesn’t sound like the shooting involved them or customers or anything. Crime might be contributing to people not coming to their venue but I don’t think it’s a new phenomenon. They knew the crime situation when they moved in.

what is your rationale for stating that City Winery is using “crime” as a pretext for terminating their lease? do you have direct knowledge of their lease covenants? is the perception of “crime” by a the lessee a common exception provided in commercial lease agreements that allows for unilateral termination?

I think they were looking for an excuse. I hated City Winery. Ivy City Smokehouse said that City Winery was full of it. they are doing just fine. City Winery was a dump with very BAD service.

Pretty sure Ivy City Smokehouse is owned by ProFish, which owns the building. So they may not have the same business pressures. And when the owner is commenting, he’s commenting as someone heavily invested in the neighborhood.

I love the neighborhood, and I hope it makes it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is a convenient excuse. Do the other restaurants right there have the same problems? Couldn't they increase security patrols?

Weird venue, strange name, mixed bag of bookings - and also a whole lot more places to see live music in DC than there once was. They say they will reopen in a new location but I doubt it.

+1. Sure, Ivy City works against them, but this is a classic example of a national chain that just can't hang in a market that's as competitive as DC. Our strong preference for homegrown businesses is to our credit, and it distinguishes us from a lot of more middling cities that are the bread and butter of chains like this. I don't think they'll do much better even if they suddenly come across a great space in a more convenient part of town.

A little off topic but where are all these new, better, homegrown music venues that you and a PP speak of? Besides 9:30 club, who would book Sierra lFerrell? Or a Colter Wall?

Sierra Ferrell had played both Union Stage and the Hamilton in the last year or so. Great shows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You guys are ignoring that a successful nightclub was in that space for idk, at least a decade? Crime was the same or worse than I’m sure.

You guys are ignoring that a venue that catered to a completely different crowd used to be there.

The crowd was a great mix of professionals and students.