After vigorous neighborhood debate, Brookland’s Finest Bar & Grill has attained the liquor license its three owners had sought for the family-friendly neighborhood eatery they’ve long imagined.
Taking a call from a reporter as he drove, co-owner Tony Tomelden spoke in hushed tones (his son was sleeping in the back seat.)
“My hope is that once we’ve been open for six months, everyone will have forgotten how contentious it was,” said Tomelden, who also owns The Pug on H Street NE. “We are just happy to have reached the next step.”
Some neighbors had voiced concerns about potential noise and trash problems. They helped spur Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5B to flle a protest with the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration this past summer to prevent the restaurant from obtaining a liquor license. Yet a greater number of neighbors came out in favor of ABRA’s granting the restaurant its license, as long as the establishment heeds specific rules, codified in a settlement agreement, around keeping noise down and trash appropriately corralled.
The former dry cleaners at 12th and Jackson Streets NE is the site of the new restaurant. Among other comments, ABRA noted that “it is hard to imagine how the transformation of a vacant, boarded-up commercial establishment into a vibrant, well-run neighborhood restaurant would have a negative impact on property values.”
Tomelden’s co-founders are John “Solly” Solomon and Frank Hankins. Solomon owns
Solly's U St Tavern, and Hankins owned and operated H Street’s SOVA, an espresso and wine bar that featured a roster of hip Americana bands for five years before it closed earlier this past winter.
Tomelden’s Brookland roots run deep. His father grew up in the neighborhood, and he and his own young family have lived there for over a decade.
For now, Tomelden said he’s hopeful for a late-December opening for Brookland’s Finest.
“We’re at the hanging-drywall phase,” he said.