1. Eatonville:Far More than a Play on Words
Chrystal Mincey| 4/8/2010, 12:55 a.m. The Washington Informer
Combine magnificentchandeliers,apicketfence,old-fashionrockingchairsplusamural that depictsthe
Floridaswamps,anda cast of colorful charactersdrawnfromthe pagesof well-knownbooksandyou
are inEatonville.
No,not the firstestablishedBlacktown,inFlorida,butthe nextbestthing.Eatonville isarelativelynew
restaurantlocatedonthe corner of 14th and V streetsinNorthwest,astone’sthrow awayfromthe
bustlingUStreetcorridor.
Namedinhonor of the hometownof HarlemRenaissance writer,ZoraNeale Hurston,Eatonville gives
customersa heftyhelpingof southerncomfort.
The author iseclectic,a visionary.She hasmanymultifacetedlayers.Iwantedtoshow a place that
showsthose layers.The columnsare raw.Zora was notrich but she had elegance abouther.Zorawas
complex butsimple atthe same time,€saidownerAndyShallal.
To create the unique ambiance,anartscollectivecomposedof 20differentartistswere askedtobring
the barren wallstolife priortothe restaurant’sgrandopeningonMay 11, 2009. Of course,Shalall,55,
reservedthe righttopaintovertheirartisticinterpretations.He commissionedseveral artistsfromthe
collective tocreate muralsfromHurston’sworksthatinclude,Mulebone andTheirEyesWere Watching
God alongwiththe Americanfolkloristherself inthe Eatonville landscapebackdrop.
Alongwiththe decorof the restaurant,Eatonville hostsFoodandFolklore,amonthlyeventthat
featuresthe foodsof the Floridatownwhichare menuofferings servedduringthe event. Another
charmingtouch includesaguestspeakerwhorecountsfolklore of the time.The nextFoodandFolklore
eventtakesplace onApril 19.
Shallal alsoownsthe popularrestaurantandbar, BusboysandPoets,basedonthe life of Langston
Hughes,a political activistandpoet,locateddirectlyacrossthe streetfromEatonville.
Shalall saidthathe has livedinthe DistrictandArlington,Va.,forthe majorityof hislife andhe is
fascinatedbyhowlittle creditWashington,D.C.receivesregardingthe HarlemRenaissance.The District
was extremelyinfluential.
The HarlemRenaissance wasfedandnurturedbyHoward University.Manywritersof the Harlem
Renaissance wentthroughthe philosophydepartment,Shallal said.
He alsoaddedthat manypatronswho frequentthe restaurantare unaware of the historyandmany
thinkthat Eatonvilleisaplayon the word eat.

2. The U streetcorridoris full of richhistory.Iwas concernedaboutchange on U Street.I wantedto
unearththe U streetheyday.The gentrificationwasnotrepresentativeof the U streethistory,€he said.
The EllingtonApartmentsnamedforDuke EllingtonisnotEllingtonatall.Iwantedtouse this
opportunityforsocial change;Iwantedto bringoutthe historyof the HarlemRenaissance.Ithinkitis
fascinatingtoshare history.U Streetisnot anothergenericstreet,€the restaurateursaid.
To furtheradd to the charm of Eatonville,the menuconsistsof,regional southernfoodsthathail from
placeslike suchasSavannah,the Carolinas,andof course Florida.The drinkmenualsohasa southern
flare withoriginal,creativeideasfromthe Eatonvillestaff.Forinstance,Ice Pick,whichconsistsof vodka
and sweettea,isa crowdpleaserandhouse favorite.
Shallal saidthathe is pleasedwiththe successof Eatonville.However,hisnextventure will be toopena
BusboysandPoetsinneighboringPrince George’sCounty.
Prince George'sCountyisunderserved,notenoughservicerestaurants.The areaneedssomething
unique.
The newrestaurantwill openinabouta yearin Hyattsville,Md.,inpartnershipwithEYA development
nearthe Route 1 corridor, he said.
“ There has beena lotof interestinBusboysandPoets.Iam alwaysmindfulof the nextlocation”,Shallal
said.
The affable ownerisalsomindful thatyougetthe whole Eatonville experience once youcrossthe
threshold -- surroundedbythe decorof Zora’srich layers,the foodof hertime,andthe soundsof the
era -- withexcitingjazzplayingasyoudine.You getfar more than youeat at Eatonville.