Whole Foods, Starbucks Won’t Pitch in to Fund for Annual H Street Festival

Corporate tightwads

Organizers of the annual H Street festival that celebrates arts and culture in the lively Northeast corridor are frustrated that two corporate behemoths have declined to donate anything to the event. Anwar Saleem, the executive director of H Street Main Street, tells Washington City Paper that neither Whole Foods nor Starbucks have contributed to the roughly $400,000 bill to put on this Saturday’s event. The block party spotlights local artists, musicians, and food vendors, reportedly drawing around 100,000 people to the neighborhood. Saleem says he’s frustrated that the companies will benefit from increased traffic Saturday but are saddling small businesses with the cost. WCP, a free alt-weekly that is now trying to supplement revenue with memberships a la NPR, is listed as a sponsor. [WCP]

Was D.C. dissed?

Bon Appetit released its Hot 10 list of the best new restaurants in America yesterday. D.C. produced just one of the 50 semifinalists, Call Your Mother deli, but didn’t land a spot in a spot in the top 10. Mid-Atlantic neighbors Baltimore and Richmond both had restaurants represented in coveted spots, however, with respective picks for cozy bistro Le Comptoir du Vin and unpretentious Longoven. D.C. dining diehards may feel disrespected, but it’s worth mention that Maydan claimed the No. 2 spot on the list last year, and Bon App named the District its Restaurant City of the Year in 2016. [BA]

No mo’ pho on Columbia Road NW

A sign posted to the door of Pho 14 in Adams Morgan says the Vietnamese noodle soup shop will close permanently on Wednesday, September 25, after seven years of business. The only other pho shop in the neighborhood is Pho Anh Dao (1915 18th Street NW), but Pho Viet on 14th Street isn’t far away. [Popville]

Hot dogs for everybody

Rockville-based nonprofit Nourish Now has partnered with the Nationals and concessions company Levy to make sure extra food at D.C.’s pro baseball stadium doesn’t go wasted. Washington Business Journal reports that “appropriate excess food items” from concession stands, clubs, suites and special events will be distributed to children, families, and veterans, primarily in Maryland’s Montgomery County. Some of the food will go to a U.S. Vets housing facility in Southeast. [WBJ]