No official announcements have been made, but D.C.-based bagel shop Call Your Mother Deli is not opening in Old Town.
The interior of the storefront at 128 and 130 N. Pitt Street is empty, and despite signing a lease last summer, staff at another location confirmed that the Old Town location is not happening. The brick and mortar has been vacant for more than two years since Helen Olivia Floral Design moved to Del Ray.
The company was challenged in Old Town after permitting issues, notably a stipulation that all trash be kept within the building since the alleyway is a public right of way — a major issue for a restaurant. Helen Olivia, when it was in Old Town, kept its trash indoors in sealed containers.
“Trash and garbage shall be stored inside or in sealed containers that do not allow odors to escape, invasion by animals, or leaking,” city staff wrote on the company’s special use permit certificate, which was issued last September. “No trash or debris shall be allowed to accumulate outside of those containers.”
Call Your Mother, a self-described “Jew-ish” deli specializes in making in-house bagel sandwiches, doughnuts, latkes and other deli favorites. The company has seven locations in D.C. and Maryland, and also sells products at farmers’ markets.
Food and Wine Magazine even listed it as one of 14 new names to know in a 2019 Best Jewish Delis in America article. The company was founded in 2018 by chefs Daniela Moreira and Andrew Dana, as well as Jeff Zients, a management consultant who is the Biden administration’s COVID-19 coordinator.
Requests for comment from Call Your Mother’s management were not returned.
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