jbest05 says: (6/17/14 5:17 PM)
So excited!! Love SweetGreen and its salads!! This will definitely help expand the dining options in the area, especially for vegetarians and the health-conscious among us.

jbest05 says: (6/17/14 5:18 PM)
Any idea if Chipotle and Panera Bread (love their bagels) might open stores around the Navy Yards area? Any other restaurants you would like to see open a store here?

conngs0 says: (6/18/14 9:46 AM)
Agree that SweetGreen will make a nice addition, and I'm looking forward to trying to Takorean for the first time when that spot opens up.

I'd be ok with Chipotle and/or Panera, but I think the neighborhood could do a lot better. The neighborhood would really benefit from Nicoletta getting its act together and opening (and being good!). In the same vein, a Chinese takeout place would probably do well (perhaps that'd be a good candidate to replace the "Sizzlin' Express" on 4th and M?), and I'd be thrilled if Capriotti's continued its DC area expansion with a store in the area.

jg says: (6/18/14 10:42 AM)
I heard there's no frozen yogurt at this Sweetgreen, which is a real disappointment.

jbest05 says: (6/18/14 11:42 AM)
Thanks to conng0 for his/her comments. What's the story with Nicoletta? I'm intrigued and would love to know the scoop.

And can you shed some light on Capriotti? I'm not familiar with that brand.

Totally agree that a Chinese (and Thai) take-out place would be nice, especially if it's authentic quality Asian food.

jbest05 says: (6/18/14 11:44 AM)
Never had the Frozen Yogurt from SweetGreen. How's it rate (and compare) with other brands?

Do you think SweetGreen might eventually add Frozen Yogurt to the menu once the Navy Yard store gets up and running?

conngs0 says: (6/18/14 1:33 PM)
jbest05, Capriotti's is a Delaware-based sub shop that opened up on 18th and M over the last year. link You may have read about Joe Biden arriving to one of the first customers.

It's fairly traditional in its offerings, but one of their tricks to such high quality sandwiches is slow-roasting both its turkey and roast beef. The "Bobbbie" is its signature sandwich, and it consists of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo (it's been a favorite of mine for year, although I typically hold the mayo). Anyway, the last time I read about this, Capriotti's was looking to start up ten stores in the DC area, but I'm not sure where the others are slated to be (or if it's even been decided). The Navy Yard area seems to fit the bill to me!

No idea what's holding up Nicoletta, but it'd definitely be nice to get to the bottom of that mystery. They already missed out on a wonderful spring, when I'm sure people were ready, willing and able to pick up a pizza to go and enjoy it in the park.

jbest05 says: (6/18/14 5:31 PM)
Thanks conngs0!! Your description of Capriotti's sandwiches had me salivating, especially for the signature Bobbie sandwich. You should definitely contact Capriotti and personally lobby the company to open a store in the Navy Yards area. Their sandwiches would be perfect for office workers and Nationals baseball games! A match made in heaven.

Where is Nicoletta planning to open a store? Under the pavilion next to the sculpture bridge overlooking the wading pool?

Thanks so much for taking the time to post a detailed answer to my inquiries! :-)

jbest05 says: (6/18/14 5:50 PM)
By the way, I stopped by SweetGreen at 11:30AM this morning and there was a long line out the door - snaking around the block.

I figured it was a lost cause trying to get a salad at the soft opening, but then I decided to come back in the afternoon at 2:30PM, which I did.

To my surprise, the line was gone and there was a short 5-minute wait to get a salad. Ordered two salads (Kale Ceasar and Spicy Sabzi - each with extra avocado, baby corn, and apple wedges) and donated $14.00 since the store was not charging for any of the food at all today.

Enjoyed the spicy sabzi salad!! Will definitely go back for salads on a regular basis and I'm not the type that frequents cafes or restaurants, preferring to brown bag my own lunches as I'm always working and often go for a lunch-hour jog.

Kudos to SweetGreen for a wonderful concept and for opening a store in the Navy Yard! :-)

Whatevs says: (6/19/14 7:35 AM)
@jbest05...they let you get 2 salads? I had neighbors there earlier and they said that they were advised that it was a limit of 1 per person...

JD says: (6/19/14 7:44 AM)
I asked about Nicoletta a few weeks ago - it's still on, but Morini is wanting to get a feel for the volume of their summer traffic before adding onto it with the pizza place (which will be in one of the retail spaces on the boardwalk built into the underside of the overlook).

jbest05 says: (6/19/14 7:27 PM)
Yup - I got two salads! One for myself and for a co-worker/friend who could not join me at the store as she was in a meeting at the time.

I was not aware or advised of a salad limit. Maybe that was due to the fact that I came late in the afternoon at 2:30PM - long after the crowds had subsided.

To be honest, I was expecting that the store would have run out of food by then. But it was busy and fully stocked when I left the store at 3pm with my two salads.

It's possible that there was an advisement of a 1-salad limit, but was it enforced? Doubtful.

jbest05 says: (6/19/14 7:30 PM)
I saw your announcement that Harris Teeter will be open on October 1st. That was disappointing to me as I was looking forward to summer shopping at Harris Teeter.

Any idea why Harris Teeter is taking so long to finish construction of its supermarket here at 4th & M St. I thought it would be open by July or August. And I figured September at the latest. But October - geez! Are they napping on the job or what???

Whatevs says: (6/20/14 3:09 AM)
@jbest05 No worries...I called the store and got the scoop...nobody knew anything about a limit there either and said that they wouldn't have told any customers that at any point on Wednesday during the soft opening.

I was advised that numerous people did get multiple salads in the same visit and that some people even paid the regular prices. Since it was a fundraiser, I was advised that they would not have refused multiple orders.

Thanks for your responses.