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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Coffee shop to open along Pennsylvania Avenue

Filter Coffeehouse and Espresso Bar, located at 1726 20th St. was named best coffeehouse in the District by Washington City Paper in 2011. Catherine Finsness | Hatchet Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Cydney Hargis.

Caffeine junkies looking to bypass the bustle of the Starbucks at Gelman Library can visit a new coffee house next month on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Filter Coffeehouse and Espresso Bar, a Dupont Circle café, is slated to open a second location at 1919 Pennsylvania Ave. in mid- to late-April and will accept GWorld. It will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Rasheed Jabr, the coffee shop’s owner, said he scoped out Foggy Bottom for the new site because while the neighborhood has a few cafés, he felt it could use more.

“I think there is enough of an international community and coffee loving community that needs more than just big name stores,” Jabr said.

Filter will offer a small number seats at the Foggy Bottom coffee house, creating a stand-up rather than sit-down atmosphere.

“There will be a few tables and, here’s the thing, we don’t provide WiFi and we don’t allow laptops,” he said, adding that he wants to change patrons’ typical perceptions of coffee shops to focus on the beverages. “People are going to come in for the coffee, which is why I am not offering the usual bells and whistles.”

He called a coffeehouse with a sea of laptops unappealing but said he hopes students will not be put off by Filter’s lack of Internet.

The Foggy Bottom location will have the same menu as the Dupont spot, featuring a variety of coffees, espresso and tea, as well as a selection of pastries. Jabr said the menu will start off slightly shorter while he waits to see how much traffic Filter attracts.

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