…is supporting our local businesses.
A local developer/property owner recently told me that the communities around RIA have a reputation among the small business/developer community as not supporting the local businesses on RIA. Whether or not this is true, perception is reality. Small businesses like to take chances with other small businesses, so if the ones that are among the first to come to RIA to take a chance are not supported and fail, we can nearly guarantee that others will see this area as not worth their investment. We, as a community, need to change this perception.
Case study one is Flip It Bakery and Deli. I was in Flip It for breakfast this past Sunday and can say that I was quite impressed. The food was good, the atmosphere was nice, and the restaurant was clean. I will be a repeat customer. I was happy to see so many others there as well, either enjoying the take out or dining in. The menu offers breakfast all day (have to love that) but also has an assortment for lunch and dinner as well. The bakery counter was filled with cakes, cinnamon rolls, and other things that can be categorized under “guilty pleasure”. The restaurant also has an outdoor seating area that many people were taking advantage of with the nice fall weather.
I would encourage all of my readers to help support any and all businesses along RIA especially Flip It. Go there for a meal one day out of the week, or two, or three. It’s inexpensive and it shows that we want other businesses to come to RIA!
rhodeislandavene.com 
My fiance and I are regular fans of their chicken and waffles. Given their bakery background, you really can’t go wrong with anything on their menu that involves flour. The food really is great and, as a friend from New York commented “this is comically, laughably cheap for how good it is.”
I was there with my wife and son on Sunday too. In fact we are there often enough that the waiter asked if I wanted “the usual” (the FlipIt Omlette). I did, and as always it satisfied.
RIAinsider,
Can you recommend any other retail along RIA we should frequent? I regularly use the Rite Aid. I would like more dining options. Flip It doesn’t do it for me. I usually go to 12th Street over Rhode Island Avenue for local dining. I’m hoping that will change with the new Rhode Island Row shops. It really would help if some local group be formed along RIA to promote the retail both inside and outside the community. Also, they need to keep coming to us for our opinions on what we want to see on RIA.
Good point. Patronizing businesses on RIA is how participate in our own rescue. While Flip It Bakery is not in my Single Member District, I am a frequent patron, visiting multiple times per week. Aside from being a great place to eat, it serves as an ideal meeting location. It beats going downtown, where there is almost always the challenge of parking. We have to put our money where are mouths are, figuratively and literally. (:-)
They have blended coffee beverages and chai tea. I’m a bit of a coffee addict and since I haven’t found a coffee shop to hang out in yet they have served as my go to for my fix.
They also seem to do a lot of business in take-out orders. (In case you don’t have time to sit and eat).
They have free wi-fi and outlets along the wall under the bar (by the windows).
The staff have always been really nice and they seem to remember my “usual” as well. 😀
I’m a fan of the strawberry pancakes for breakfast and the veggie panini for later in the day!
I am glad we have a decent restaurant on RIA. Its good to have a place you can get breakfast all day for a late sleeper like me.
Carol Fleming
Great thanks for the update on Flip It. I haven’t stopped I’m yet bit now I will definitely add it to my weekly plan. I don’t visit the locations on TIA enough. For other places that need our support I offer Rita’s at TIA and South Dakota and Taste Restaurant. They were featured in the Brookland newsletter. Sounds like the may have some interesting food that is worth a try. Anyway just offering my two cents.
It doesn’t appear Taste is open for lunch anymore, or not on a regular basis. Has anyone else noticed this? I’ve noticed Lace has a free buffet with it’s happy hour. Has anyone tried it?
One thing I really like about Flip it is that it doesn’t serve alcohol. That debunks the myth that a restaurant needs to offer alcohol to stay in business to have adequate revenue. At Flip it’s previous location on Michigan & Eastern Avenue it didn’t serve alcohol. It will be interesting to see if Flip it will continue in this direction of being non-alcoholic. On the other hand what I really don’t like about Flip is what has become of the location it abandoned at Michigan & Eastern Avenue. It’s become a grungy eatery that mostly sells lottery tickets.
I think the owner desires a family friendly place and explicitly does not want alcohol served. I wouldn’t worry about them serving alcohol. I think the model it has works and I agree its nice to see that it can survive without the alcohol margin.
That said, I wouldn’t mind a restaurant east of 18th street (in addition to Taste) that serves alcohol.