RUNIN Ragged

Category: Web Dev

  • Piola DC

    Piola DC

    Jason Morenz was working in the kitchen in Piola located on the northern border of U St by Florida Ave NW. The restaurant was popular on Sunday for their bottomless brunch (not mimosas) but 10 different types of pizzas (personal size) as much as you can binge.  

    During the weekday, all draft beer (including the Peroni) was only $3 and occasionally, they would offer involtini puffs, bite-sized roll-ups with bacon, mozzarella, and eggs. On the 29th of each month, Piola would offer AYCE handmade Gnocchis with a handful of decadent sauces.

    Although 14th Street has a fair share of pizzerias, Piola was popular with pizza aficionados for their thin-crust and savory cheese and hearty toppings. Couples and groups also came for the chilled atmosphere and friendly servers.

    Piola’s, on most nights, was buzzing and the demand for take-out was through the roof. The biggest problem was apps like DoorDash and Grubhub took a huge slice of their paper-thin margins, as much as 30%.

    “Why not cut out the middleman?” Jason thought to himself. “We could build a slick website and channel all call-in orders through it.”

    Under his direction, I purchased the domain Piola D.C. and replicated their menu on an eCommerce platform. Then I updated Google maps with the new website name.  

    Within days, the website traffic started to pick up and if anyone called to order, they were redirected to the new site. But Piola’s did not have its own fleet of delivery drivers. So Jason came up with another ingenious idea.

    For every delivery order that came in, Jason would duplicate the order on the Postmates app.

    For the sake of example, Charlene is at home with a big craving for traditional Italian pizzas and Peter is working a swing shift as a bike messenger.

    Charlene ordered the Quattro Formaggi on the Piola D.C. website.  The instruction would then be automatically printed out and sent to the kitchen.  Jason would then make the same order on the Postmates app. In little time Peter would show up at Piola’s to pick up Jason’s pizza.

    Jason would immediately greet Peter. “This order is for Charlene and it’s going to this address down the road,” Jason instructed. “And I’m going to tip you ahead of time, so don’t screw this up.”

    15 minutes later, Peter called Charlene at the Union Row Flats on 14th and she happily buzzed him in. He checked in at the front desk then took the elevator to the 5th floor and tapped on her door.

    Charlene opened the door in her skimpy, pink terrycloth bathrobe “Come on in,” as she motioned for him to follow her.

    “Please set the pizza on the table.”

    Peter bewilderedly followed her to the dining room.  Then he opened his bright red pizza warmer bag and gently took out the large pizza box with the slogan “FAMOSI PER LA PIZZA” embossed on the side.

    Charlene thanked him with a slight twinkle in her eye.

    Peter returned the smile and maintained a steady gaze. Then a prolonged uneasy silence, while Peter noticed a partial view of the Capitol rotunda from the master bedroom vaulted windows. He wanted to say something, but luckily she beat him to it.

    “Well, I guess I better dig in while it’s still hot,” she mutters under her breath.

    “Umm, yeah. It looks good. I betta be going now,” he mumbles.

    Peter almost tripped on himself as he stumbled out.  He thought he heard her say something about the savory gorgonzola, but by then he had safely extricated himself into the hallway.

    “Whoa, wait, don’t leave just yet…”

    Peter’s heart was jumping by the time he got to the elevator.

    “You forgot your tip.”

    But Peter already got his tip, from Jason at Piola’s, and he noticed on the app that there was another order to pick up.

    As soon as he descended down to the lobby, he wished he could retrace his steps back to the apartment with the shapely blonde and the panoramic view. 

    “Man, I had my one chance, and I totally blew it,” he muttered. “How could I be such a coward,”

    He thought about calling Charlene and inquired how she was enjoying her slice, and whether she wanted him to bring up some chardonnay to complement, but he clearly didn’t have the guts to see it through.

    The autumn night was dreamy and delightful when Peter raced back to the store.

    “You’re a dumbass,” Jason admonished. “Such a pathetic loser.”

    “Well I delivered on time,” Peter quipped. “And the pizza was still hot and steamy when she ate it.”

    “Yeah, but you left the tip on the table, you idiot, not to mention some other things.” 

    “Well, I definitely didn’t expect her to be so revealing. Perhaps she was seducing me to make a move, then report me to Postmates.”

    In the weeks ahead, Piola was humming, and the orders kept flooding in.  The upper echelon and franchisees were delighted with the ton of sales and the favorable reviews.

    But then the number of orders made by Jason on Postmates aroused suspicion.  The corporate office in Miami Beach caught on to the website and the Piola D.C. domain.

    One morning, I was aghast when an email from the company’s attorneys showed up in my inbox. They wanted to know why I purchased the domain without their permission and why I created the site without their oversight.

    For the next several days, I kept mum, but after they hit the resend button,  I decided I would finally disclose my motives.

    I opened the books to everything we did and mentioned to them how the new site was making them a killing. 

    Needless to say, they were grateful, but still piqued that I owned the domain name of the local franchisee. 

    “We would like you to transfer the domain to the corporate office ASAP.”

    “Well, there were expenses incurred for both labor and costs.”

    “We’re willing to pay, as long as you’re willing to cooperate.”

    The following Tuesday, a check for $500 arrived in the mail.  Then later that day, Jason and I drove to Piola and picked up 20 boxes of pies with all the flavors they offered on their menu.

    We drove them down Connecticut Ave until we reached Dupont Circle. Then we entered the ornate building on 1800 Massachusetts Ave and rode the elevator to the 2nd floor. 

    Guests were beyond pleased when they saw Jason and I laid out 20 boxes of mouth-watering pies on a folding banquet table.

    “Thank you so much for your donation to our monthly meetup,” said Scott Johnson, CEO of Agency Chief. “Hope this didn’t set you back much.”

    “It didn’t cost us a dime, but getting these pies wasn’t easy.”

    “Hope you didn’t have to do anything under the table. Either way would love for you to share your experiences at our next WordPress meetup.”

    “Can I share my portfolio with the audience?”

    “Absolutely, just don’t talk about your work for Mpire or the Showcase Theater.”

  • Nightowls

    Nightowls

    In the evenings Suzannah and I would set up shop at different incubators or at a co-working group called the Nightowls which was held at several locations and co-working spaces in town. On this particular evening, we were working up in the 1776 incubator space on 1133 15th St. NW.

    This is where I would run into fellow entrepreneurs such as Justin McLeod and Bennett Richardson from Hinge, Dan Berger from Social Tables, and Anton Gelman from Cont3nt.com.

    Pets weren’t allowed, but it wasn’t like me to follow rules. From time to time, I would bring Apollo, my sun conure to keep things lively during the late night jam sessions.  

    “Hey we’re night owls, not sun parrots. Hoot Hoot,” came a witty voice from the peanut gallery.

    “I thought that your logo is a monkey, not a damn parrot?” 

    “It’s neither. It’s actually a baby orangutan,” I responded. “And my little bird is my sidekick and co-founder, and he can fly circles around you.”

    Suzannah lightly caressed the parrot on her shoulder. “We’re not just about food, we’re about fun.”

    Apollo was indeed a playful, social partner and a nice digression from brainstorming and side hacks. Having the multi-colored parrot fly around the room and interacting with other overtaxed entrepreneurs actually inspired creativeness.

    One night, Suzannah invited her friend Sonia Herrero, a creative artist, yoga teacher, musician and dancer to join us for our buzz session. I invited my photographer friend Jason Morenz.

    Suzannah gently tapped Apollo’s beak. “Love how he’s chewing on my hair.” 

    Jason picked up his Nikon DLSR and snapped a picture. “Think he’s partial to blondes.

    “Yeah that means he likes you,” Sonia added. “It’s a sign of affection and trust.”

    “He’s actually preening you – just like how he preens his own feathers to keeps it clean and neat,” I said.

    Apollo then flew to Sonia’s shoulder and started squawking for attention.

    “Hope he’s not too noisy. He’s louder than a Macaw in the mornings and serves as my dreaded alarm clock when I’m trying to sleep in.”

    “Ok, Apollo, you’re too cute and cuddly, but it’s time to socialize with other Nightowls. We have to put on our thinking caps.” Sonia used her hands to shoo him away and he flew away to find a new friend.

    “RUNINOut has to go beyond food and branch into fitness. Have you thought about doing yoga?” Suzannah asked.

    “Good idea. I’m hosting a rooftop yoga session at the Mellow Mushroom in Adams Morgan next week,” Sonia added. “You’re welcome to join us?”

    “Apollo and I will be there — bright-eyed and bushy-tailed”

    “So RUNINOut’s slogan is not just food and fun, it’s also fashion,” Suzannah said. “As in colorful costumes and outfits.”

    “Like an exotic dancer’s chiffon. Say you should also consider belly dancing, that would really broaden your horizons, both figuratively and literally,” Sonia added. “There’s a Turkish eatery called Tel’Veh in NOMA where I’ve performed before that could use your help.”

    “Whoa, you should stay in your lane. Your logo is a running orangutan that resembles a clueless monkey. You carry a colorful parrot on your shoulder to Nightowls,” Jason responded. “Now you’re adding belly dancing to the mix?”

    “Yeah, people definitely need to start taking us seriously. That’s probably why I get so many rejections during my cold calls. I often hear ‘No, thanks, we don’t want to be featured on your site,’ and ‘if it’s really free, then how do you make money?’”

    “Tell them you make money from building websites, managing their social media profile and selling advertising,” Sonia replied.  “And you get paid for hosting events.”

    “Perhaps you should start doing demos. Present at the D.C. Tech meetup, Tech Breakfast, etc.”

    “And you ought to stop making cold calls without me. I need to tag along and do all the face time, while you work on all the stuff behind the scenes,” Suzannah said. “Remember I was able to convince Jeepo from the Biergarten.”

    “I couldn’t agree with you more. Both you and Apollo are a lot more pleasing to the eye, and together you can sell everything but the kitchen sink.”

    “Which restaurants should we target?” Sonia asked. 

    “D.C. has a large celebrity chef talent. I would visit Mike Isabella, Morou Ouattara, Marjorie Meek-Bradley, Roberto Donna, all top chef alumni,” Suzannah replied. “Getting your site associated with their reputation will give you  instant credibility.”

    “Roberto Donna? Didn’t he plead guilty for meals tax embezzlement and accused of underpaying his staff at Bebo?” I asked.

    “Yes, but people don’t care about that. They like hanging out with big name chefs. He’s won a James Beard Award and was once bigger than Jose Andres,” Jason replied.

    “Also don’t forget about the top PR firms like Heather Freeman and Jill Collins,” Suzannah suggested.

    “For restaurants to start taking you seriously, you’ll need to show them some formal validation besides Twitter engagement and Facebook likes,” Sonia added.

    “Hey, I got an idea.  Why don’t you submit RUNINOut for the Washington City Paper, Best Restaurant App contest next year,” Suzannah recommended.

    “That could be challenging. You have to advertise and market to get people to vote,” Sonia said. 

    “So how do we get the word out without paying a bundle?” I asked.

    “Post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram begging people for their votes.”

    “And we could also ask guests who attend our events to give us a vote of approval. Heck if they enjoyed the food and had a good time, don’t see why they wouldn’t oblige,” I added.

    “And also the traditional way, putting signage around town to reinforce the message,” Sonia added.

    “That’s another reason why you should buy a pedicab,” Jason suggested. “Tack on a large sign on her and ride her all over town.”

    “Pedi… what?” I asked.

    “A small pedal-operated vehicle that you can transport people in and plenty of room to store your stuff and chill out.”

    “That’s brilliant. It’s not just a taxi company, it’s an advertising agency!” Suzannah exclaimed.

    “All terrific ideas. My head is buzzing from all this brainstorming. Let’s go down to the Green Lantern and tie one on.”

    “Not tonight. I’m not in the mood to visit gay bars. But why don’t we meet up at Meridian Hill Park Sunday,” Sonia suggested. “Rhythm in the Park starts at 3.”

    “Well, I was planning to go paddle boarding with Georgia on the Potomac.”

    “Awww! Bring her to the park after your paddle. They’ll be lots of drummers and dancing till late, it’s quite spiritual and uplifting, and I’m sure she’ll enjoy it, too.”

    “A Bientot.”

  • The Owl Bar

    The Owl Bar

    When a devastating EF-5 tornado struck Joplin, Mo. on May 22, 2011, I had the honor to volunteer with the AmeriCorps. I picked up a lot of debris and pulled a lot of broken branches, and I was amazed at the outpouring of support from Americans all over the country. People were offering services and supplies, and this information was posted on the Joplin Disaster Relief Facebook page. But the information was disorderly and scattered and the donations were not managed effectively. So, I took the initiative to create an online database where volunteers could more easily track all donations and match them specifically with survivors depending on their specific needs.

    Although I had no experience creating a content management system (CMS), I quickly learned on the go and became a huge proponent of Drupal, WordPress, and other open-source platforms. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Too bad it took a natural disaster for me to learn it.

    Drupal shines as a technological marvel with speed and scalability. That’s why I chose Drupal to be the CMS for RUNINOut and traveled all the way to Vancouver to find a developer with a personable demeanor, who I could work with. 

    And when I returned to the DMV, I dove head first into the D.C. Drupal community and became a frequent attendee of their monthly meetups at the Stetson’s Bar on U Street. 


    Drupal meetup @ Stetson’s (Courtesy of Phase 2)

    What a peculiar place to have a tech discussion. It’s a cowboy bar without much paraphernalia or pretension. There’s pool, darts, and a lasso when you walk in, but no mechanical bull. And the crowd is far from country. It’s mostly filled with yuppies and techies and a splattering of politicos. Rumor is that the Bush twins (Jenna and Barbara) would frequent with their security detail and imbibe on alcohol before they were of age. Also during the Clinton years, Monica Lewinsky would patronize while she was interning at the White House.

    The monthly discourses were a great way to sharpen my skills, collaborate, and network. There were always people hiring Drupal developers and if I had a question or issue, Drupalers were always willing to help. It was amazing how in-depth some of the topics were covered and how engrossed we were for a noisy dive bar known for cheap drinks.

    Drupal4Gov hosts the annual GovCon held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD each July. This was always a good opportunity to get the latest state of Drupal, learn new features, tricks of the trade, and of course network. There was always something new and exciting on the horizon, but undeniably the most useful sessions were Birds of a Feather — informal gatherings to discuss a certain topic with no pre-planned agenda. And the topics were not limited to Drupal — coding, design, accessibility, DevOps, etc were all broached.

    And after a long day of discussions, developers and technologists were eager to get together and socialize at the annual happy hour down the road at Bricksides on Cordelle Ave.

    Drupalers strived to arrive during the open bar from 5-7 where any beer on tap was included: from Blue Moon with a juicy orange slice to a malty Guinness in a 20-ounce tulip pint. Thankfully our donor Mobomo had deep pockets and was extremely gracious. There was also plenty of finger foods such as phyllo-wrapped shrimp and chicken drumsticks.

    The decor is modern and clean with an expansive exposed brick wall. There is a long wooden bar with plenty of seating and just a fun atmosphere. Brian Vasile, who also owns Grand Central in Adams Morgan designed the bar to hearken back to the Prohibition era. Distillery pipes make up the shelves behind the bar. and Baltimore’s street corner’s famous “Vote against Prohibition” written in faint white on the dining room wall.

    “Hey did you hear that Stetson’s is closing?” I asked my friend Nick Grace.


    me, Kelly and Brian Vasile

    “Oh no, she will be sorely missed..”

    After serving as a fixture on U Street for 35 years, Stetson’s would finally be serving it’s last call on Halloween night. Real estate prices downtown were going through the roof and the property was sold to Douglas Development for a couple of million.

    “But Bricksides is relatively new and the appetizers are quite a mouth watering,” I replied.

    “Yeah, but nobody goes to Stetson’s for the food. It was bland and dry there, but the atmosphere was legendary. The place is full of memories. A lot of great discussions was had there, and a lot of code was debugged over Bud Lite and Blue Moon.”

    “That’s right beer and programming go hand-in-hand.”

    * * *

    Every October, Baltimore would host a camp and in that same year, it was held at the Baltimore University near the Penn Station. The events were organized by Daniel Schiavone of Snake Hill (not the tavern but the web agency).

    Just like in D.C., after a full day of sessions, we would mosey over to a nearby pub which happened to be the world-famous Owl Bar in the grandiose Belvedere Hotel.

    The Owl Bar was built in 1903 and became an instant hit with locals. But when prohibition started, the owners improvised. They installed plastic owls on top of the cash registers. If the owls eyes were blinking, the taps were free to flow. This meant that the shipment had been received, and the police were nowhere to be found. If the eyes were fixed, then the taps were secured and you shouldn’t mention alcohol. 

    The Owl Bar is floor to ceiling brick with mule deer head trophies and stained glass panels with wise lyrics

    A wise old owl lived in an oak.

    The more he saw the less he spoke.

    The less he spoke the more he heard.

    Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?. 

    I ordered a Sidecar (brandy, lemon juice, and Cointreau with a sugar rim) and duck tacos. The food was quite bland and the cocktail was nothing to wrong home about, but I came for the nostalgia, not for the nourishment.

    The pub is teeming with history. Some folks spoke lots, and some just heard. It’s a great place for friends to get together and strangers to become friends. And once again, there were a lot of side topics discussed, and coding debugged over a pint of Natty Boh.

    “So how did you learn Drupal,” Daniel asked.

    “I have no programming experience. Everything I know, I learned from Google and YouTube,” I responded.

    “Yes, the value of degrees and experience erodes when you can watch a YouTube video and ‘voila’, you’re now an expert.”

    “I’m still very much a newbie. That’s why we need experts like you Daniel to make our sites smart, sleek, and professional.”

    “I’ll drink to that.”

    * * *

  • Iron Chef

    Iron Chef

    One sunny weekend during the fall of 2013. The restaurant scene in G-Town was abuzz with tourist activity. I passed Georgetown Piano Bar and then Jinx Tattoo parlor, soothing sounds of reggae music emanated from the brown brick establishment. Bandolero was next and this is where I hoped I would cut my first big deal.

    I was taken aback by the “Day of the Dead” atmosphere complete with metal cemetery gates and faux animal skulls hanging eerily on the walls. The interior was dark, the music deafening, the entire ambience spooky and western-chic.

    I sat at the bar and ordered suckling pig tacos and grilled corn on the cob. The bartender poured me “El Bandolero”, their house Margarita on tap. He garnished it with lime and it was delectably rimmed with citrus salt. 

    After my meal, I waited anxiously, wondering whether I should order another cocktail. 

    Luckily, when I turned around, I came face to face with the Top Chef, himself, Mike Isabella. He wore his usual gray short sleeve chef coat, his right arm adorning a brass-knuckled pizza cuter tattoo, and on his left a brand new Mexican Cowboy. He was clean-shaven and wore a big smile. But his voice was gruff and he seemed dismissive.

    “Thank you for showing me your website, but we’re not interested in your service. We have our own publicist and graphic designer. Our business is doing just fine.”

    “How ’bout hosting an event here, say 20-30 people, select appetizers, social media coverage, you name it?”

    “You’re welcome to speak to our manager to arrange an event. But we’re quite busy as it is, and we won’t be comping any meals.”

    Shortly, after Isabella went back to the open kitchen, I returned to my pedicab and quietly rode to my next stop. As I steered down L St towards the GWU campus, I passed Bar McFadden’s to my left and 51st State Bar to my right, both great establishments to catch a game after work. But for now, I had seen my share of D.C. eateries. Tomorrow, I would venture into the Commonwealth to engage with other Top Chefs.

    Crystal City, VA. has for many years been the home of military contractors and govies. During lunch and happy hour, they perennially congregate on restaurant row or at José Andrés’ Jaleo enjoying traditional as well as cutting-edge flavors.

    Adjacent to Jaleo on Crystal Drive was Chef Morou’s Kora, a trattoria-style Italian restaurant that opened a couple of years ago. 

    As I approached the street-side glass doors, fondant blue jays chirped from olive trees that billowed over the sidewalk.

    When I entered, I was greeted with dangling tree branches. Glowing tree canopies created a sense of intimacy. On the wall behind the kiln-fired pizza oven, decal tree branch silhouettes conferred a feeling of calm and relaxation. 

    I sat at the bar and ordered a Dark & Stormy. Then devoured a slice of the chicken pesto pizza.

    Minutes later, Chef Morou entered with his crisp, white chef coat.

    I sat at the bar and ordered a Dark & Stormy. Then devoured a slice of the chicken pesto pizza.

    Minutes later, Chef Morou entered with his crisp, white chef coat.

    I immediately recognized him. Slim and handsome with a pencil-thin mustache and goatee. The winner of an Iron Chef America competition in D.C., Chef Morou challenged Bobby Flay in Season 3.

    “Love the ambience. It’s so sophisticated and chic.”

    “Thank you, I got your email and looked over your site.”

    Chef Morou who grew up on the Ivory Coast cooks like he talks “American with an accent.”

    “So would love to build a new website for you to go with your contemporary design.”

    “Well, I know a thing or two about tech, I studied computer science in college. But lately I’ve been quite busy scouting a location for another restaurant in D.C. and launching my African spice lines.”

    “I understand that you’re very busy. That’s why you should hire us to promote your restaurant and feature your dishes.”

    “Yes, I have a big event tonight in Farrah Olivia that I have to plan.”

    “Super, Bien, et toi.”

    Although Morou was still contemplating, his response was more favorable and warm. I returned to my batmobile and rode through restaurant row

    The following week, I got a text message from Morou.

    “Thanks for visiting. My wife, Heather, says your service is nice but not needed.”

    “I know that marketing and social media is considered the low-hanging fruit, but it’s extremely valuable to increase sales.”

    “We have a lot of overhead. Our restaurant is gigantic and our ceilings are 24 feet high – you can fit a church in here. Our utility bill alone is sky high.”

    “I totally understand Chef, but what if we hosted an event. We would invite 20-30 people, you comp the meals and we in return will feature your cuisine all over social media.”

    The next day, I contacted Michael Galang, founder of Thursday Connect to see if he would help promote the event. Each person would pay $20 and we would split the proceeds. 

    Morou was born and raised on the Ivory Coast in West Africa and learned how to cook by watching his mother prepare feasts for their large family of 33 children. When he immigrated to America in 1988, he was hired as a dishwasher at Ristorante I Ricchi and was eventually promoted when a co-worker quit an hour before opening. Eventually, Morou was hired as the executive chef for Signature. Lobbyist Abramoff, who owned the restaurant, frequently provided free meals to sway lawmakers. Tom DeLay, Bob Ney and John Doolittle were his favorite guests

    But after the scandal hit the news, politicos no longer wanted to be seen at the restaurant, and the restaurant was doomed to join D.C. Eater’s list of Closures.

    On the morning of the event, there were only 10 RSVPs and a few more that indicated interest. But we had room at our table for 20, and we needed butts in every seat.

    It was then, that I gave my good friend Jackie a call. 

    “Hey Hon, we need a big favor. How quickly can you contact your friends to come to an Italian dinner at 7?”

    “I’ll go through our listserv with BookaLokal (marketplace for group dining experiences) and see what I can arrange.”

    “You helped me tremendously with the Chinese feast at Ming’s, if you could pull a monkey out of the hat, I would be indebted to you for life.”

    Two hours prior to the event, Michael and I waited anxiously hoping for a decent turnout. We paced up and down the restaurant along the purple walls, passing the colorful Andy Warhol-like portrait of his three-year-old daughter, Farrah.

    We nibbled on calamari and sipped on Heavy Sea Lager. Little by little people started to trickle in. By dinner time, over 25 guests had shown up. We had met and exceeded all expectations.

    We were able to photograph all the dishes and were able to garner all the content necessary to feature them on RUNINOut.

    Unfortunately, Suzannah couldn’t make it. She birthed the idea of visiting celebrity Chefs but she was now working on her own startup idea. I didn’t expect to keep someone that talented for very long.

    And Jackie, who came through in the clutch, did not have to pay a dime. All her food and beverages were comped by me. She had become my go-to miracle worker, and someone I would rely on whenever I got in a jam.  There would be many more jams and like a 9th inning relief pitcher, we hoped to escape them all.

    “What a smashing event. What’s next on your plate?” Michael asked.

    “Haven’t given it much thought. It’s football season, so perhaps a Florida Gators watch party?”

    “Yeah, sports is nice, but you can’t always rely on me to help out,” Jackie commented.

    “I could use ten of you, frankly.”

    “Then you should interact with the D.C. food bloggers. Chef Morou and other restauranteurs like him needs lots of coverage and publicity.”

    After dinner, there wasn’t much nightlife activity on Crystal Drive, so Jackie and I and a few others crossed Route 1 to 23rd St where there is a small, bustling enclave with a bundle of hookah shops and international eateries

    Right in the center stands Freddie’s Beach Bar, Northern Virginia’s longest-running gay bar.  The beach-themed, purple-lavish bar is adorned with rainbow flags and pink flamingos.  Freddie Lutz, who grew up down the hill, has owned the business for over 12 years. He is an affable man, a respected community leader, and has been working in the industry for over 35 years.

    He opened Café Italia 20 years ago and then decided to open up a Gay bar up the road.

    Before the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” many gay service members were in the closet. All it took was someone to even think you were gay to report you.  That’s why Freddie’s served as a safe refuge because it was advertised as a “straight-friendly” bar.  This gave everyone protection – they won’t have to worry about being seen because straight people went there too.

    When we walked in, we knew right away we were going to have fun.  The bar was filled with patrons knocking back pints of Devil’s Backbone. A Ballard from Doris Day was belting in the background.

    We found Freddie himself going table to table, mingling with customers like he was a council member.

    “Freddie’s is the most diverse bar that I know of. It bridges the gap between the straight and gay communities – that’s one of the most magical things about us,” he said.

    After chatting with Freddie and ordering our cocktails, I came upon two of my friends who had actually been my tenants for eight years.

    Dywayne and Ty were enjoying the music, ambience, and cuisine.  

    “We just came from dinner at Kora across the street. You guys need to come to one of our events,” I suggested. “How’s Wade Road?”

    “Everything in the apartment is fine. Will pencil that in on our calendar. By the way, you can come by Home Depot sometime and pick up your rent,” Ty said. “Unless you just want me to mail it to you.”

    “Home Depot is fine. I gotta buy some supplies anyway. Can I find you at the Customer Service Desk?”

    “Absolutely. You know which days I’m off. I can’t hide from you.”

    “Freddie’s is such a great place to get together. We need one of these in every city,” Dywayne said.

    “Couldn’t agree with you more. It’s such a great atmosphere.”

    Despite Freddie’s popularity, gay bars today are dwindling since many bars have accepted the LGBTQ culture and have adopted drag shows to their regular performances.  Freddie’s has been a huge building block for the community and fortunately will be here to stay.

    “Next time, you have a craving for pasta, visit Café Italia down the road. They’ve been a fixture here since 1976.”

    “Will do. And thanks for bridging the gap in our community.”

    “Thanks for coming over,” Freddie said. “See you at Freddie’s Follies on Saturdays.”

    Back then, Freddie’s and the D.C. sports bar Nellie’s were one of the few venues that featured drag brunch. Now it’s so popular that mainstream venues are serving up drag with their eggs benedict like it was just a cover band.

  • A Site is Born

    During the spring of 2010, I enrolled in Professor Richard Donnelly’s New Ventures Class at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Business.  Students had to create ideas for a new venture, form groups of four and present the idea to the entire class at the end of the semester.

    My teammates were Daniel Lonnerdal, Jing Xe, and Mustafa Onerci.

    “What I learned from the Foodspotting eatup at Burma Restaurant was the need to provide faceted search where users can choose their cuisine, type of dish, ingredients, and taste preferences,” I said.

    “Not only that, but you can choose your mood and ambiance,” Jing added. “Last weekend, I went on a date with my boyfriend. I tasked him to find something romantic with a pleasant view and no distractions, and thank goodness he didn’t disappoint.”

    “Lucky for him, he came through. And if you’re a fan of sports like me, you can select the team that you like to watch, and the site will tell you which pubs to visit.  A Falcons fan definitely doesn’t want to stumble blindly into a Saints bar.  Unless you’re game for an ass whooping contest.”

    “Perfect example — what shall we name it?” Daniel asked

    We brainstormed for a few..”How ‘bout Food Runner?” Mustafa suggested.

    “Nah, some people drive or catch a cab.”

    “How ‘bout Run this Town?” Jing asked.

    “Nah, not a big fan of Jay-Z.”

    “How ‘bout Dining Out?” Daniel asked.

    “Meh, how ‘bout RUNINOut?” I suggested.

    “That’s a weird name. Like running out of food, groceries, things to do?” Mustafa asked.

    “Umm, yeah that’s an accurate expression.” I began to write the name on the notepad.

    “Strange…Looks too much like RUIN tho. And isn’t running spelled with two N’s and one G?” Jing asked.

    “Yeah, but that’s just too long to fit in an address bar. I like the shortened version even if we’re ruining the spelling.”

    “It’s kinda catchy, but I think people will get confused and misspell it. Then they won’t be able to find it on Google,” Jing replied.

    “Well tell that to Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they came up with Google or Jerry Chang with Yahoo.”

    “Too bad we’re not in Silicon Valley. So are you going to hire someone local to develop the site?” Daniel asked.

    “Would love to, but the prices in this town are up in the stratosphere due to high demand from government contracts.”

    “Then why don’t you outsource the work to India, the Philippines, or Africa?” Mustafa suggested.

    “We can outsource the content management once the structure is in place. But to build the foundation, I want to find a team from North America who understands our culture, our cuisine, our history, our beliefs, and attitudes. Someone who I can physically reach out and touch if I need to and someone that won’t break our piggy bank.”

    “Where can you find such gifted talent whose willing to work below market price?” Daniel asked.

    “Dunno, but maybe we can find a technical co-founder at the next tech meetup.

    “That’s possible. And I hope we get good feedback from Professor Donnelly and the class during our capstone presentation next month.”


    Presenting RUNINOut at the New Ventures Class at The GWU University
  • Startup Weekend

    Startup Weekend

    That next big tech event was Baltimore’s first-ever Startup Weekend held on April 17-19, 2011.

    On Friday afternoon, I arrived at the Emerging Technology Center, Baltimore’s Technology Incubator, at 8 pm, just in time for the pitches and a quick drink of something. I chugged down an Amstel Light as I glanced around the burgeoning crowd of 150+ Type-A people. Many developers and entrepreneurs had used the time wisely over the last two hours to get to know each other and to sell their ideas.   Not knowing anyone, I was already at a severe disadvantage — and I needed people to vote for my idea, or else I wouldn’t make the cut.

    We made our one-minute pitches in a large hallway with no chairs and barely room to crawl — just the floor to sit on and the person next to me to lean on. There were over 75 pitches that night (more than half of the people who attended had ideas), but only about 20 would be asked to demo during startup weekend.

    Entrepreneurs brainstorming at Startup Weekend

    Most of the people there were business, marketing types, with less than half being developers — me being an MBA communications type and designer, finding a developer was the one critical skill set needed to make RUNINOut functional by Sunday evening.

    There were lots of wonderful ideas — each one of them was an application that I surely had use for.

    Mappable links, text-relationship manager, social charitable giving,  checking your health online and via SMS, a mobile site that lets you rent out your driveway, crowdsourcing advice on what you should wear via Twitter, determine ad potential for sites, etc.

    When my turn came up, I asked Mike Brenner, if he would allow me to tell the story of my car getting broken into. After much nagging, he relented, and I used that example to segue into my core message that it would be wonderful if I had access to an aggregator that could read Yelp reviews as well as tweets and police reports and provide a customized recommendation based on the sources I choose and the weights assigned to each one.

    “I woke up Friday morning and I was delighted to see a Living Social Dollar Lunch coupon available for a myriad of restaurants all over the city.  

    I was on my way to Baltimore, heading to Startup Weekend, so I conveniently stopped at a renowned restaurant in Dupont Circle just prior to leaving the city.

    The restaurant was cozy with a lovely ambience. But because I wanted to arrive in Baltimore before the rush hour traffic, I grabbed something to go and quickly returned to my car, only to find window glass spread all over the sidewalk and my backpack with my MacBook Pro and Canon camcorder conveniently lifted from my car seat.

    I would have hollered if it wasn’t for the pleasant demeanor of a young lady named Tinoi Marché who was already on the phone with the police.   She was having lunch in a restaurant directly across the street and had witnessed the whole ordeal. Shortly before, a vagrant ruffian was pacing up and down 17th Street NW looking into cars.

    My Subaru Baja window break-in

    A moment later, he shatters my side window, and the thug is seeing running down 17th with a backpack in tow.

    By the time I arrived, a mere five minutes had escaped. “If I wasn’t sitting down enjoying my meal, I would have run after him,” she said.

    “It would have been worth it. That same clown could steal from me the next day or worse hurt somebody.”

    When the officer arrived, he explained to me that there had been a rash of break-ins lately. If I had taken the time to look at SpotCrime, I would have found this out, but who does this?

    “Well thanks for calling the cops, and no, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt over a laptop and camera.”

    Furthermore, I didn’t really enjoy the lunch. I didn’t have a chance to read consumer reviews from sites like Yelp because, well, I just didn’t have the time.

    The first thing I did after I called the police was to post an update on Facebook that my car was broken into and my laptop was stolen. Mike Brenner, organizer of Startup Weekend Baltimore, immediately contacted me and informed me that they could easily refund my money.

    I thanked Mike for the offer but said heck no. Come hell or high water, I was heading to Bmore. I had an idea to pitch, and I wasn’t gonna let a thug ruin my day.

    The pitch was well-received, but when it got time for the voting, everyone was given three sticky notes to place on the the wall pads of each idea. Because there were so many pitches, some of the pads were spread out further down the hall where less people congregated.

    Pitching at Startup Weekend Baltimore

    As a result, I only received six votes, one less than was needed to make the cut of 20 participants. My heart sank. I went to see Mike who informed me that although I didn’t make the cut, I was still welcomed to demo as long as I could gather a team and build a prototype by Sunday.

    There were plenty of peeps with brilliant ideas and keen business acumen, but those with expertise in web programming were rarer than genius itself. 

    I quickly scurried around the room looking for techies —  noticed that groups were already nestled away in their own groups, brainstorming ideas, hoping to change the universe. Meanwhile, there were a few poor souls, pacing around with great ideas, but no associates to fertilize the soul.

    Senodja Walker

    That’s when I made a quick call to my prior EMBA classmate. Senodja Walker was home in Laurel, MD., getting ready to call it a day — she had class all day Saturday at GWU and Sunday was a day of rest.

    “Senodja, I need you to come and help me demo.”

    “How about your classmates from Donnelly’s class?”

    “They’re not interested in pursuing the startup — only for the class project.”

    “Would love to help, but are you going to be ready?”

    “I have no choice. It’s make or break for RUNINOut.”

    I also invited Kanita Williams, to join us in our strategy session and throughout the weekend, all the different groups worked hard to refine their business models. 

    What was truly unique was how folks who didn’t even know each other before Friday night got together and collaborated so seamlessly to create a product, a business model, and a polished presentation in a mere 54 hours.

    On Sunday, the event culminated with presentations by all 20+ groups. Though it would be a long night, all the presenters were highly engaging. Everyone — entrepreneur, developer, marketer — was enormously talented, and all their creative juices gushed out throughout the entire weekend.

    Usually, I hate lectures, but I completely loved listening to what these innovative minds had to say. The best part of all the hard work was finally sitting down with an open mind and listening to the fantastic demos. I could see myself being a huge user of their apps one day.

    “Startup Weekend proves that there is enough critical mass to build a sustainable startup culture in Baltimore,” said Ron Schmelzer, a mentor, and judge.

    RUNINOut presented midway through the demos. I started out with the car break in story.

    Ron Schmelzer, Techstars Mentor and Investor chats with Yasmine Mustafa

    As I went down the bunny trail, Senodja deftly ran the demo illustrating its value in selecting restaurants by location, occasion and appeal (look and taste).

    We are a restaurant search engine that crawls the internet for relevant reviews and trends and creates a comprehensive rating report for each individual. Our algorithm also incorporates the user’s personal preferences based on the latest input, restaurant selections, types of images clicked and user feedback. Like Pandora for music, the more you interact with RUNINOut, the better it gets to know you.

    “A site that is a repository for dishes throughout the local area is a brilliant idea,” Ron Schmelzer, a Techstars mentor and investor stated. “The other day, I had the craving for a cheesesteak, and I wanted to know where I could find one.”

    “And I love how your site will display the pictures of all the top dishes from my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants,” said Yasmine Mustafa, the CEO, and founder of 123LinkIt. “I was born in Kuwait and moved to Philly when I was eight.”

    “As exciting as it is to look at pretty pictures, you’re still needing someone to work behind the scenes doing the coding,” Ron added.

    “But can’t we just hire someone to build the site?” I asked.

    “Anyone can hire a developer. Look, there are three things a startup needs to succeed — money, talent, and expertise. Right now, you’re missing two of these legs,” Ron said.

    Once the demos were over, I was tremendously rewarded from hearing the great vision of these promising entrepreneurs — many of them on the verge of creating products that will change the lives of people in Baltimore, DC, and beyond.

    But truth be told, it was apparent once again that we would not make the final cut.

    3rd place: Dapprly + Talkchalkco  — Dapprly is a Twitter application that allows a person to model outfit options and let the masses tweet-vote for which is best. Talk Chalk is a Facebook app for students, teachers, and parents, allowing for virtual homework assignments and game-style award incentives for doing them.

    2nd place: ispylocal: a business that plans to put banners in vacant storefronts, providing a phone number and text system in which passers-by can call and vote for what business they’d like to see move in.

    1st place: Parking Panda: a mobile app business designed to connect people who have available parking spaces and those looking for a cheap spot near a busy event

    (In 2017, Parking Panda was acquired by its competitor, Spot Hero)

    I loved hearing about all these fascinating ideas and best of all, meeting and collaborating with extraordinary like-minded entrepreneurs — an invaluable life experience.

    Ron again explained that we didn’t place because our team lacked a technical expert. Senodja was an Army officer who would be leading her troops to battle, and Kanita was a law clerk in the DC Superior Courts, hoping to grace the halls of SCOTUS one day.

    Together we knew a lot about marketing plans, SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) Analysis, and product life cycle models, but we lacked the knowledge of one thing that mattered the most – how to write code. What we lacked in technical expertise, we could make up for by being innovative and resourceful. I needed to head west until I found someone that could build the framework for our site.

    * * *