Wow, have things ever changed at the southwest corner of 3rd & Market. If we turn back the clock a few years or a few decades, Suit Corner was operating out of a double-wide commercial space, selling suits as gaudy as the paint job on the facade. Unfortunately, a fire gutted the buildings in 2014, and 300 and 302 Market St. sat vacant for a short time.

Within a couple years though, developers bought the lot at the corner and built a new four-story building with 12 apartments and retail on the first floor (a deal brokered by the owners of this here website). At a glance, you can tell that the building is new construction and not a couple hundred years old like much of the rest of Old City. Still, the rules of the historic district required a design that fits within the architectural context of the neighborhood, and in our humble estimation, the architects did a pretty nice job.

We bring this property to your attention not to remark on its architecture, but to discuss imminent plans for its first floor commercial space. A few days ago, Eater reported that Mamoun’s Falafel will be opening there in the coming months. For those that have never heard of Mamoun’s, it’s a chain based out of New York which also has locations in Connecticut, Jersey, and for some reason, Dallas. Now they just need a DC location and they’ll have every NFC East town. The menu offers what we’d expect from a falafel place, including falafel, shawarma, kebobs, and various Middle Eastern spreads. We’re pretty sure this will fill a need in the neighborhood, though correct us if we’re forgetting another Middle Eastern take-out place.

If you look at the image of the building, you’ll notice that there’s some framing activity going on next door. In case you don’t recall, we told you a few months back that a new two-story building was in the works at 302 Market St. which will house a new incarnation of Shirt Corner. As that project is by-right, it’s moving full speed ahead, an unfortunate underuse for a very valuable property. Ah, if only these two buildings could have been combined into a larger, better building. Oh well, maybe we’ll do better in a hundred years.