Anacostia's got a brand new brand. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The first question that must be answered about the "Big Reveal," the "surprise" announcement scheduled to take place in Anacostia Friday evening, is simple: Did it live up to the hype?

I'm afraid I'm going to have to go with "no," though given that I also fairly accurately predicted that it would be tied to a branding campaign, I'll qualify that by reiterating that I wasn't exactly surprised.

Still, while a 4 p.m. media preview event held at the Gallery at Vivid Solutions was fairly well attended (notably absent: Ward 8 D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry, who organizers say was supposed to be there), the actual "reveal" part, scheduled to run from 5:30 to 8 p.m at the Anacostia neighborhood's biggest landmark, The Big Chair, arrived with the all the fanfare of a middle school career fair. A few balloons, a small tent, and a staff of eager teens were on hand to help the curious sign up for a green key chain discount card, good for deals at Anacostia businesses.

So, no "big" reveal. But if the "Eat Shop Live Anacostia" brand unveiled Friday manages at some point in the future to accomplish its goals, perhaps its lukewarm beginnings will be quickly forgotten. Funded by part of a roughly $200,000 grant from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development that's being managed by Anacostia boosters Arch Development Corp., the campaign is aimed at increasing awareness and development of the neighborhood's struggling historic shopping district. So far it consists mainly of the aforementioned "community incentive cards," a social media-heavy website, a smattering of storefront banners and posters, and the promise of promotional community events down the line.

The creative brains behind the brand is Nikki Peele, author of the Congress Heights on the Rise blog and now director of her own public relations firm, reSPIN. She hooked up with Arch initially as a client, seeking technical assistance to get her small business off the ground, but eventually morphed into more of a consultant as the campaign took shape.

"'The Big Reveal' is really Anacostia," says Peele. "A lot of people don't even know where it's located."

She's not wrong. Yes, Big Chair Coffee recently opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, and a sports bar is on the way. But talk to Anacostia residents and they'll tell you they're still sick and tired of how their community is portrayed in the media: all crime, all the time.

"They say Anacostia is the forgotten city, and it truly is," says Helen White, longtime owner of Ultimate Touch Hair Salon at 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. "It's starting to be more diverse now, and I frankly would like to see more diversity."

"I would say this isn't the old Anacostia. This is the new Anacostia," says resident Moses Smith, clutching an "Eat Shop Live Anacostia" flier in his hand. "We've got interesting sites and places to visit" that people may not know about, he says.

Even if the launch of the brand was a bit of a letdown, it does seem to have tapped into something, a general feeling that it's well past time for Anacostia to be seen as a place that's turning a corner.

Along with the "Eat Shop Live" campaign, the same team is set to unveil next month a new shared workspace, The Hive, where local entrepreneurs and freelancers can rent space to do work and make connections. It's not a novel concept, Arch president and CEO Duane Gautier admits, but in Anacostia, it feels like a revolution.

"There is this vibe going on here where Anacosita is being seen as a place to do business," says Gautier. The Hive and the slogan are all part of a larger effort to harness that vibe and turn it into an economic engine, he says.

Nothing would make Edward Lobban, owner of Jamaican carryout spot Fireside Restaurant, happier than if business started booming. But after peering out of his window all afternoon in anticipation of the "Big Reveal" and seeing nothing that made him very excited, he's taking a decidedly wait-and-see approach.

"I'm still not sure what the idea is," he says. "They came not with a bang, but with a whimper."

For his part, Gautier preaches patience. The new branding could take "a year to 18 months for it to really blossom," he says.