Business partners Rabindranauth “Rob” Ramson and D’Mazana “D’Maz” Lumukanda presented their vision for The Brookland Café at the March meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5A.

The Brookland Café is located at 3740 12th Street NE and will be part of The Inn at Brookland, a bed and breakfast owned and operated by Mr. Ramson, a Brookland resident.

At the meeting, the business partners described The Brookland Café as an upscale dessert bar that would serve organic coffee and tea, muffins, desserts, fine wines, liquor, cognac, port and champagne.

The owners created a website, www.thebrooklandcafe.com, that shows photographs of desserts and a statement that “The Brookland Café and Dessert Bar will feature fresh, fun and innovative individual desserts, baked goods and light fair [sic].”

Based on the description of the dessert bar, ANC 5A voted unanimously on March 25th to approve the owners’ request for a “stipulated” liquor license, which allows them to serve alcohol while their application for a permanent liquor license is pending.

When the business partners filed their liquor license application with the DC Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) in April, however, residents were surprised to learn that the application differed in many respects from what had been described to the community and to the commissioners of ANC 5A.

Notably, the menu submitted with the application did not have any desserts on it. The food menu listed tavern fare such as chicken wings, salads, and fish platters. The drink menu consisted of two dozen different kinds of frozen daiquiris. Many drinks had sexually suggestive names like “Magnum XL,” a brand of condoms.

The daiquiri menu also included the option of buying a drink in a “squeeze bottle” or a “28 oz. yarddog” size.

At a meeting held on May 18th by ANC Commissioner 5A06 John Feeley, the owners called the daiquiri menu “a mistake.”

They said they had removed the menu from their application and replaced it with a menu that featured daiquiris, margaritas and cocktails without sexually suggestive names.

Mr. Ramson distanced himself from the application that had been submitted, saying he had been unaware of many of its particulars. Mr. Lumukanda said the recent death of his mother had caused him to lose focus on his business affairs, which led to the submission of the inappropriate daiquiri menu.

Residents attending the meeting expressed concern about other aspects of the liquor license application, such as the long hours of alcohol service, but the owners were unwilling to make any changes.

“The answer to that is no,” said Mr. Ramson.

The owners rejected ANC Commissioner Feeley’s suggestion of starting negotiations on a “voluntary agreement” to govern certain aspects of the license, such as a reduction in opening hours.

The application submitted by the business partners is for a tavern license with the ability to charge cover charges and to provide entertainment, such as live music. The difference between a “tavern” liquor license and a “restaurant” liquor license is that establishments with restaurant licenses must demonstrate to the DC government on a quarterly basis that 45% of their sales come from food. This requirement does not apply to taverns.

According to The Brookland Café application, alcohol will be served from 10am until 1:30am during the week and until 2:30am on weekends.

Mr. Ramson, Mr. Lumukanda and a third business partner, Derrick Brown, tried unsuccessfully to open a daiquiri bar called Splash in Adams Morgan in 2007. In a July 2007 Washington Business Journal article, Splash was described as “a cross between Fat Tuesday and Hooters,” with an “adult-oriented” area that would feature waterbeds and mirrors on the walls.

Splash never received a permanent liquor license because a falling out between the business owners led to the collapse of the enterprise. One of the business partners was arrested and convicted of assault in an altercation over the matter.

At the May 18th meeting, Mr. Lumukanda said the article about Splash reflected the views of his partner at the time, Derrick Brown, and not his own. “That business venture never even got off the ground,” he said.

B.J. Cortis, who lives across the street from The Brookland Café, was not reassured by the owners’ statements. “They weren’t willing to make any commitments and they weren’t willing to compromise,” said Mr. Cortis.