Mayorga Lounge closing

Prince of Petworth reports that the owner of Mayorga Lounge, the coffee shop in the Gala theater on 14th and Park, is turning it into into a sushi restaurant. According to PoP, the franchise owner faced high rents, pressure from Mayorga to expand, and stiff competition from the Starbucks down the street. I'm profoundly bummed about this. I'm all for sushi but Mayorga Lounge was a great space to hang out in, had tasty teacakes (has anyone ever seen those outside D.C.?), and was generally a nice locally owned alternative if, like me, you need the occasional break from Starbucks. Let's hope the sushi plan works out better for the owner. I don't want to hate on chains but it'd be a shame if such a lovely location turns into a Subway.

Free Salad at Chop't

I'm inclined to say that Metro Center has all the soup/salad/sandwich joints it needs, but that's no reason to pass up a free salad. To celebrate the opening of its new Metro Center location, Chop't will be giving out free salads there between 11 and 2 today.

Chop't
618 12th Street, NW

Penn Quarter Living: Metro Center Chop’t…There Is A Free Lunch