As you may know we’re trying to figure out DC real estate. It’s tricky. 1) We just don’t know it as well as we do Boston. 2) We’re going to be brand new. And there’s so much about what makes Clover special in Boston that has to do with our interaction with the community. We want to make sure we choose sites where we’ll be able to create that same type of deep experience in DC. So while prime office-area real estate is attractive from a sales standpoint, I’m nervous about our ability to build our brand properly in that market.
Based on advice from very experienced operators who know a lot more about DC than I do, we’re thinking it would make sense to open 2 sites: 1 that is in a more developing area, the other in an already developed area. That’s our rough thinking. We have a lot to do to figure out if this is the right direction or not.
A site became available on H street, near 10th. This is an area with an &Pizza and a Taylor Gourmet, 2 hot new chains in DC. I love the building, and there’s room to do some really creative stuff, and the trolley is just being added. Those are all exciting things. But when I shared this with a friend who knows DC really really well he said he thought it was much too gritty for us. Didn’t think it would be a good early location. DC-ers out there, what do you think?
