Tag Archives: cusbah h street

Cusbah Wins Lawsuit, Will Remain Open (Cusbah Statement)

28 Sep
Cusbah Celebrates Legal Victory!

Cusbah Celebrates Legal Victory!

District Cuisine reported earlier this year that Cusbah’s landlord (1128 H Street, NE) was looking to evict Cusbah and replace the restaurant with something new.  Over the past several months, the two sides have been involved in litigation over the eviction process.  News was broken earlier this week by Frozen Tropics, that Cusbah won the lawsuit and will remain at 1128 H Street.  In response to the victory, Soophia Hussain, Managing Partner at Cusbah, released the following statement:

In April 2016 many of you witnessed the “for lease” sign posted above of our restaurant and the reports by local blogs of our imminent closing. It then became public knowledge that we were in a legal dispute with our landlord regarding our lease.

The culmination of that legal dispute occurred on September 26th, 2016 in a trial between Cusbah and the Landlord, and we are happy to announce that the Judge ruled in our favor.

Our success could not have been possible without our legal counsel Hessler Bianco. Steven Hessler is an H St neighbor and friend who owns Gallery O on H St.

We also wanted to extend a big thank you to all of our patrons, neighbors, and local H St business owners who supported us during these last 6 months. The amount of emails, phone calls, and warm wishes gave us much strength during a difficult time.

At 1128 H St NE Cusbah is open so come join us for a beer and samosas. We don’t know what the future will hold but for now we’re happy we survived.

Advertisement

Tags: , ,

Cusbah Responds: We Intend To Stay At Current Location

14 Apr
Exterior of Cusbah (1128 H Street)

Exterior of Cusbah (1128 H Street)

Earlier this week, District Cuisine reported that Cusbah (1128 H Street) needed to vacate its current location by the end of April as the space was being marketed for a new tenant.  The story generated considerable buzz but also support for the restaurant (both via Twitter and on other social media channels).  Management at Cusbah reached out to District Cuisine with a response that is included in its entirely below.

Per Cusbah ownership:

Dear loyal Cusbah Patrons, H Street neighbors and future guests,

A number of local blogs are reporting the impending closure of Cusbah on May 1, 2016. The inundation of phone calls, which both reflect support and curiosity have prompted this note.

Cusbah is currently in a legal dispute with our landlord regarding our lease. Since we opened for business in August of 2012 we have made every effort, in good faith, to remain in favorable standing with our landlord, our customers and our neighbors.

Having that said, Cusbah has every intention to be open at its current address on May 1, 2016. Cusbah ownership, management and staff thank you for all your support. We look forward to having the privilege to serve you today, tomorrow and well into the future.

–Cusbah Ownership

Based upon inquiries, yesterday District Cuisine reconfirmed our story from earlier in the week.  We can confirm that the first floor of 1128 H Street is currently being solicited to potential new tenants and that ownership expects Cusbah to vacate the space by the end of April.

Tags: , ,

Cusbah Closing by May 1

11 Apr
Exterior of Cusbah (1128 H Street)

Exterior of Cusbah (1128 H Street)

Cusbah (1128 H Street) must vacate its location by May 1st, and the property is already being actively marketed by Blake Dickson real estate.  District Cuisine first noticed a sign outside the building on Saturday and has since confirmed the news.  The building owner is looking to replace Cusbah with a new restaurant/bar as soon as they can find the right new concept for the space.  Cusbah opened on H Street back in 2012 (see our post here) after a renovation of the restaurant and later expanded with a covered patio.  We have reached out to the restaurant to find out if they are looking to open in a new location.

Tags: , ,

H Street Residents and Restaurants Spar Over Longer Hours for Rooftops

18 Dec

This evening the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee–which has jurisdiction over the eastern end of H Street–held a discussion about possibly changing its policy that currently prevents restaurants and bars from operating public space patios (i.e. patios on the street) and rooftop decks after 11pm on weeknights and midnight on weekends.  While the D.C. Government’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) handles alcohol licenses in the District, ANCs play a very important role in the process through recommendations to ABRA and by holding hearings to help restaurants/bars and residents come to mutually beneficial agreements that will help the establishment thrive in the community without negatively affecting its neighbors.  The current policy of ANC 6A is to require restaurants and bars to agree to not serve alcohol on patios and rooftops late at night even though the establishment can stay open until much later in the evening.  This meeting was to discuss a potential change to that policy.

Over 20 residents showed up to protest any potential change vociferously.  Most of the comments were similar: allowing later hours outdoors would create more noise and prevent residents from sleeping, later hours would encourage more drunken debauchery along H Street and in the surrounding neighborhoods, and that there was no benefit to the community for allowing restaurants to have later outdoor hours.  Several residents argued that allowing restaurants to have later outdoor hours would lead to an increase in crime.

Only two restaurants testified in favor of changing the current policy to allow for later hours.  Joe Englert–owner of several H Street establishments and arguably one of the main reasons that H Street is currently experiencing such a renaissance–countered many of the residents claims that a change in policy would have negative effects.  Englert argued that he and other H Street restaurants have invested many millions of dollars in the community and have no reason to be bad neighbors.  He offered to install any kind of noise barrier to help alleviate any noise problems that arose in neighborhoods surrounding H Street.  After several residents questioned the need to keep outdoor areas open so late (one said that there was no reason for people to be drinking or even out after midnight), Englert pointed out that many young people are going to be out late drinking “because that’s what they do.”  He implied that if they weren’t out drinking and spending money on H Street they would be doing it elsewhere around the city which would hurt the H Street economy.   Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , ,

Cusbah Spices up H Street

20 Sep

Not long ago the 1100 block of H Street housed Taylor Gourmet, Little Miss Whiskey’s, and not much else.  The combination of vacant buildings and a somewhat sketchy liquor store made the block one of the less appealing parts of H Street.  However, this summer the block sprung to life with first the exciting addition of H&pizza and now Cusbah (1128 H Street), a Southeast Asian restaurant with a wonderful outdoor bar and patio.  Even in its first few weeks, Cusbah has already helped transform a largely abandoned block into one of the most exciting (and tasty) blocks on H Street.

Cusbah on H Street

The owners of Cusbah completely remodeled what had previously been Naby’s Island Restaurant into a beautiful new space that has both indoor and outdoor patio seating.  Cusbah is located in a corner townhouse unit on the eastern end of the block.  As you enter, the indoor seating is intimate with dimly lit lights that reveal jars of spices above the tables that line the left side of the restaurant.  The seats on the right hand side are high top stools located at the bar.  The owners knocked out part of the exterior wall on the right side to create a large window behind the bar to form a two sided bar (with the bar tenders in the middle by where the exterior wall should be), so that diners can sit inside at the bar or outside on the patio at the bar.  To get outside to the patio, diners are escorted through the restaurant and through the interior door by the bar to the patio that is located on the corner of H and 12th streets (it is separated from the sidewalk by a waist-high fence and several planters).  Apart from the bar seating (four seats) outside, there are a variety of regular tables and high top tables.  When it is nice weather outside, you would be pressed to find a more pleasant environment to dine.  As it gets colder outside, we are told that the owners plan to put up a temporary roof over the patio and will presumable heat it somewhat, so that diners can enjoy the patio even during the winter. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , ,