Photo by christaki

The 14th and U Street NW corridors have experienced a number of setbacks in the locally-owned coffee shop department over the last couple of years. First was the end of Sparky’s (making way for the wildly popular Cork). Then it was the shuttering and now presumed death of 14U, despite rumors that it would reinvent itself as a retail/cafe hybrid. Cafe Collage entered the scene, but since then Love Cafe has sharply reduced its hours, no longer serving coffee in the early morning hours (it’s been opening at 11 a.m. for a couple months). And if wireless internet is important to you, as I noted on Sunday, Mocha Hut has become markedly inconsistent in that area.

So Metrocurean’s scoop this morning that 1905 owner Mick Mier and his partners are set to open Mid-City Cafe in April (located above Miss Pixie’s at 1626 14th St. NW) is good news for the neighborhood. Those of us who rely on coffee shops to double as temporary offices will be anxious to check the space, and the coffee, out later this spring.