Cookie’s Corner with Pizza
If you haven’t heard, Cookie’s Corner at the Second and Elm Streets NW is now open for business. It’s somewhat like the LeDroit Park Market, which is owned by the same person, but Cookie’s Corner will serve pizza in addition to sandwiches.
We, like others, are a tad disappointed with the inclusion of a curtain of bulletproof glass at the counter. Then again, it’s easy to issue that criticism if you’re not the person who has to staff the counter.
We paid a visit on Tuesday and were informed that food service begins this weekend.
When are they going to remove the unsightly bud light vinyl signs? This thing reeks of just another corner liquor store. Though, I’ll go and get food before passing final judgment.
The bud light signs are because it IS just another corner liquor store. They sell more 40s, big cans of beer, than any microwave pizza. One word formed in my mind when I walked inside…GROSS. And have you ever been inside Ledroit Market to get food? GROSS. Same owners, same dirty food. This place doesn’t have the same sanitary code as a real restaurant. It appears to be a corner liquor store with a microveave for pizza and oscar myers subs. Good luck.
In the world of 40s selections, Cookie’s Corner rates nowhere near the top! Their beer cases are half the size of most of the neighborhood market’s and is equally matched by their selection of groceries and dry goods.
Also, if you take a moment to look into the kitchen, they have all the trappings of an *actual* restaurant, including a hot dog machine (the old school kind that rotates), fountain soda dispenser, grill, and health-code compliant three-part sink.
Can we please just stop knocking this place based on aesthetics and make conclusions based on fact? I’ll be there to test out the food this week, too, and look forward to stopping by with my family when they’re in town. -Em
I have to agree with Emilyhaha, can people stop knocking the new market? I live directly across the street in the Gage School and welcome this new addition to the neighborhood! Is this a Red Rocks Pizza or Cosi…NO. But what is does offer is a sign of change in our neighborhood as well as a convenient place to get daily goods. And to “Trean” the beauty of living in America is that you have the choice to patronize establishments or not. If you have such a problem with the new market then drive yourself to 14th and P St. where you will get the high end non liquor store, microwave pizza establishment you so desire.
i live next door to this place on 2nd street and have mixed feelings about it. Mostly, I am disappointed that some of Simon’s original vision has apparently been lost in the reality of getting it open (at one point he had spoke of having a Brickskellar-like beer selection and more gourmet pizzas). Of course the plexiglass is rather disappointing as well, though as someone else said it is easy to criticize when you’re not staffing it. Frankly the original vision was expressed before his other store got robbed two years ago – it was a real shame that happened, and clearly affected how Simon approaches our area.
Personally, I would hope that as he adjusts the business he will reflect more goods and services that the neighborhood is obviously hungry for (witness Big Bear, Windows and Timor) – outdoor dining in the vacant lot, for example, would be such a massive hit that it’s hard to believe it is not being taken advantage of. With the right vision this place could be like Wonderland or Red Rocks. Here’s hoping that it evolves over time. I have been here long enough to have spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Romeo in the store’s previous incarnation, and I had mixed feelings about his store as well. Mostly I really wish he would come to feel the plexiglass is unnecessary – maybe get a few Rottweillers, which is how Romeo kept things secure.
Like some of the other posts, I have mixed feelings on this particular shop. I did stop into the store a few days after opening and didn’t really notice anything that was going to bring me back. It’s appearance is nicer than Flagler Market. Of course I always had dreams it would turn into a cafe of sorts, or bakery, or even a deli. But I know that is wishful thinking… It’d be amazing if a Rocklands BBQ took the chance of opening in the neighborhood! But I know getting an establishment that sells made-to-order food is quite the challenge in the neighborhood.
Having worked the counter at shops like these in the past, I do think that bulletproof glass is necessary. It would be fun though if there was such thing as one-way bullet-proof glass, so that while I could not be harmed behind the counter, I would be able to thwart – permanently – any would-be robbers.