Searching for sliced prosciutto or gabagool in downtown Silver Spring? Ain’t gonna happen at Jackie’s Restaurant, Fenton Village’s hipster haven. But patrons looking for a stiff drink or rare beer can holler.
Photo: The bar inside Jackie's Restaurant is about to get a little company. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP
Jackie Greenbaum, who runs the eponymous eatery, canceled plans to convert extra space at her Sligo Avenue building into a charcuterie (read: meat market). Instead, she’s tricking it out into a new bar, she told The Penguin at Saturday’s snowy farmers market on Ellsworth Drive.
The bar will occupy what used to be a hair salon plus one other retail space at the corner of Sligo and Georgia Avenue, adjacent to Jackie’s. To satisfy the county’s liquor-control people, the bar technically will be an extension of the restaurant — it’ll connect with the main dining room and its backroom gallery, Greenbaum explained.
But the 1,300 square-foot bar will have a “low-fi” vibe to it. Where Jackie’s is polished and sleek, the bar will be designed for hanging out, shooting pool and possibly playing a little Ms Pac-Man, she said.
Its menu also will have that chillax feel and will include an expansive beer selection. Instead of serving booze that complements the food, it’ll hit patrons with food that complements the booze, Greenbaum spelled out. Frank Morales, who was top chef at Arlington’s Rustico and The District’s Zola and now runs the show at Jackie’s, is still pulling together a final menu, she added.
And just like the Quarry House Tavern, Greenbaum’s dive bar on Bonifant Street, this new bar will have no name or exterior sign. Greenbaum just calls it the “side bar”.
Expect the side bar to open after the new year, Greenbaum said.
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As a booze-loving vegetarian, I whole-heartedly approve of this change-of-plans.
Sounds good to me. Hopefully it will bring some nightlife to south silver spring. Given all of the nearby apartments and condos recently built or under construction, there should be a significant number of people within walking distance. Hopefully this and the Firehouse Brewery which should open up the street will make this part of the central business district more of a destination.
Can someone explain to me why the Quarry House has no sign? I think there’s a little piece of paper tacked up over the door. I’ve been wondering about this for a while and have even discussed it with my husband and friends. We can’t figure it out!
The Quarry House sign just fell off one day, and no one bothered to replace it, owner Jackie Greenbaum told The Penguin (read: me). She said the lack of signage lends to the place’s intimacy, like it’s a special hiding spot for lovers of burgers and booze.
I’d like to see that whole strip of Georgia avenue become a nightlife destination. We already have some great choices of food with Nicaro, Olazzo, and such. With Hook and Ladder and Jackie’s as anchors, that strip can really take shape. The new Pyramid Atlantic and the Filmore should draw people from around the county and district as well.
There is definitely a market in SS for more nightlife. My wife and I have to trek down to U street to get to the nearest decent selection of bars.
Mr. Gobbles (love the screen name) said it all. My wife and I live minutes away in DC and would love to have more nightlife options in the neighborhood. It’s nice to have a growing number of spots within walking distance.
This is great news for south Silver Spring.
I have one request for Jackie- Instead of Ms. Pac-man I’d like to see Guitar Hero and a karaoke set-up.
It really would be nice to see that area blossom into an interesting place to go out at night. In appearance it reminds me of the Pearl District in Portland, OR before it became popular, or the Warehouse District in Austin, TX. Some of the closed down auto repair places could be turned into interesting restaurants or shops.
On a related south Silver Spring note, I heard today that Mayorga Coffee is closing in the next month or so – is there any truth to this?
Editor’s note: I’ll look into the Mayorga rumor and get back to you. Until then, it’s going in the “unverified” pile. — JD (Dec 8, 2009)
So, Jackie thinks that by having no sign on Quarry House this lends to the place’s intimacy. On multiple occasions I have been stopped by people, standing right at the ne corner of Bonifant & Georgia, who ask me where Quarry House is located.
Must be nice for Quarry House’s business to be so good that it can remain “intimate”.
My source for the Mayorga news was one of the guys at Silver Spring Tires (just a couple of doors down Georgia from MCF). My $0.05 worth is that if they are indeed closing down then I blame the service. Their product (coffee, etc) is genuinely decent, but the service and management of the place has always been lacking.
Gotta agree with Jerry re the lack of sign at the Quarry House – that just doesn’t make good business sense. I really don’t think the Quarry House is the kind of establishment that thrives on being exclusive. If they’re trying to make the QH a sort of Silver Spring equivalent of Smith Point in Georgetown that would be a shame. To me, the QH is sort of the older brother of the Corner Pub up in the 4 corners area – a basic neighborhood bar.
More nightlife is much needed–I’ll certainly give the side bar a visit. Also coming soon is Pacci’s, the pizza restaurant and beer/wine bar that that Mrs. K’s people are opening on Georgia, just one block north of Jackie’s.
I agree with Jerry about the lack of signage. IMO, not having a sign, especially on a high-visibility corner like Geogia and Bonifant is like throwing free advertising down the drain.but maybe Jackie is trying to be like the uber-cool bar called The Gibson on 14th st. near U
I heard a rumor that the county is planning another bridge/pedestrian crossing over the Metro/CSX tracks somewhere between Colesville and Georgia. That would be a fantastic boon to the bar/restaurant scene in DTSS.
Anybody know anything about it?
Editor’s note: Again, this rumor is going into the “unverified” pile. — JD (Dec 8, 2009)
If anyone’s got news leads, please email the Penguin newsroom at info-at-silverspringpenguin-dot-com. Thanks!
Say all you want about not having a sign, but Quarry House has no trouble filling up, it seems…
Not every neighborhood pub needs a sign. Those who live there know about it; those visiting looking for it will ask and interact with the “locals”; and, others will discover it by word of mouth, i.e., social interaction. McNally’s up in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill section has no sign and it is always full: http://www.mcnallystavern.com/
I’ve never been in Quarry House when it wasn’t completely packed.
BRH, I only have been to Jackie’s once (and was underwhelmed), but my recollection was that there wasn’t a whole lot of veggie food options to begin with.
@Tara, You’re right, I think QH is actually more veg-friendly than Jackie’s, hopefully the addition of more bar food will mean appetizers-a-plenty…
Quarry House is waaaaaay more veg-friendly than Jackie’s. Hopefully this new place will have at least a couple of vegan options.
I’m just speaking from the perspective of a profit-driven capitalist. No sign = less exposure = less revenue. Let the rebuttals begin :)
But you’re missing the fact that signs are for nerds.
I had heard that Mayorga got a chunk of cash from MoCo’s Department of Economic Development to stay open. I heard that the county gave them this money because of all the BS with closing the street in front of their shop while they built all the buildings down there.
Editor’s note: This claim has not been verified. An article on Mayorga drops Thursday morning. — JD (Dec 9, 2009)
Editor’s note: This comment was deleted only because I’ve got a post on this subject dropping Thursday morning. This commenter’s screen name was also changed for consistency with previous posts. — JD (Dec 9, 2009)
‘Annoymous’ hates being abbreviated to ‘mouse’. At least make it “The Mous (formerly known as Mouse)”
Editor’s note: How about “Maus” or the uber-cool “Mau5“? — JD (Dec 9, 2009)
I agree, Quarry House does not need a sign. That place is always packed.
I hope Jackie’s new bar thing/pool doesn’t turn into a crap hole like Galaxy.
Alright, ‘Maus’ it shall be
I’m very excited that Jackies is adding a bar, and that Hook and Ladder and Pacci’s is opening up, because Georgia could use more places to hangout. However, I live on East West Hwy and I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to get to GA ave. to Olazzo and whatnot by foot, and the fact that late at night it’s not the most comfortable feeling walking under that bridge towards the area where Bennington is. I wish the powers that be would find some better lighting or something so that I don’t feel like I’m walking into pitch black area. So with these additions, the chance that I’ll frequent them later than say 10pm is not very high, since I’ll have to walk all the way down GA to the metro to feel safe.
Sorry for the rant, just a thought. Maybe the owners can put pressure on the Silver Spring govt (oh wait, we don’t have one) to do something.
And I’d also just like to add that I have no experience being mugged near that bridge, nor have I heard of any problems, I’m just saying that it is isolated and I know for a fact from other friends in the area that it keeps people away at night.
Maybe if the rumor about another ped crossing over the tracks is in fact a rumor, “the people” can start a grass roots movement to start the planning for one. The way the county moves (plus all the BS w/CSX who I believe owns the tracks) I wouldn’t be surprised if it took 5 years to get a ped bridge over the tracks.
QH needs no sign it just IS.
As to crossing Ga Ave from South SS – you can go OVER the Ga Ave underpass – take the stair case up right next to the old train station. And I agree that I would never go under that passage alone at night.
You can also cross going thru the NOAA garage where the Marc station is at.
JG–> Regardless of whether there is better lighting doesn’t change the location of the homeless shelter…