Photo by furcafeDCist food writer Rebecca Cooper stopped by Comet Ping Pong today to discover the restaurant had a big hole in the wall, and a sign noting that due to various circumstances, they are not currently serving alcohol.
Concerned that Frank Winstead may have exacted some sort of sinister revenge, we followed up with owner James Alefantis, and thankfully, thing are actually less dramatic than they appeared. The hole? Made to allow a new door to be installed. With respect to the booze, Comet’s lawyers had inadvertently forgotten to renew the license, and they are voluntarily suspending serving alcohol until they receive their new permit, according to Alefantis. They are hoping to receive the new permit tomorrow, hopefully in time for their weekly Saturday night concert.
UPDATE: Ruh-roh. Looks like the folks at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration disagree with Alefantis’ sunshiney take on this issue. ABRA Program manager Danielle Balmelle just sent us a Tweet saying that from ABRA’s perspective, Alefantis didn’t renew his license due to “other issues” (or in other words, not because his lawyers forgot), and that the earliest opportunity for him to do so would be Monday, since ABRA was closed today in honor of Emancipation Day. We’ve asked Balmelle if she can elaborate on exactly what those “other issues” might be, and we’ll update if learn anything more. — Sommer Mathis
Additional reporting by Rebecca Cooper and Kriston Capps
