Jeff Black presents his plans for a new restaurant on 14th Street NW to ANC2F Wednesday night. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Celebrated D.C. area restaurateur Jeff Black can't wait to get moving on his new bi-level restaurant and bar in the bustling 14th Street corridor.

"I get goosebumps every time I set foot in the building," says Black of the space he's hoping to purchase for $2.5 million at 16141612 14th Street NW. As Tom Sietsema has previously reported, the idea is do an oyster bar and 75-seat restaurant, which Black is calling Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, and an upstairs bar complete with indoor bocce court, dubbed BlackJack. The bar is meant to be a "fun little neighborhood spot," says Black, the owner of BlackSalt in the Palisades, Addie's in Rockville, and Black's Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda.

But before the sale can be finalized, Black's waiting to see what happens with his alcoholic beverage license application, which is set for a hearing before the ABC Board on Nov. 1. And despite Black's stellar reputation and track record, not to mention an overwhelming sense of excitement that he's coming from within the neighborhood, it remains to be seen whether he'll be able to overcome the concerns of residents who live immediately behind the restaurant.

Now, the level of hysteria about Black's plans shouldn't be blown out of proportion. Dozens of formal "protests" have already been filed against his ABRA application, but that's just the way these things go. In order for any individual resident or neighborhood group to have standing before the ABC Board regarding Black's application, they must file such a protest.

Still, petitions are circulating in the neighborhood raising the alarm that Black intends to install a "roof deck" or "summer garden" that he'll keep open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 a.m. during the week. [FULL DISCLOSURE: TBD Editor Erik Wemple lives very close to the planned restaurant, and while he has stayed out of the fray, his wife recently signed one such petition]. As it turns out, though, that's not quite what Black has in mind.

Plans call for what amounts to a fully enclosed second floor, with only a small, 8-10 person "smoking deck" in the rear of the bar that will basically have three or four screened windows on one side, but walls everywhere else. Black says he wants his customers to be able to duck in the back for a smoke without having to leave their drinks inside.

As for the late night hours, Black told commissioners at an ANC2F meeting Wednesday night that he will continue to pursue the full amount of hours allowable under the law. He's concerned that if he isn't able to continue to serve drinks well past the usual dinner hour, there's no way he'll make a profit.

"I'm trying to design this as absolutely as quiet as possible," Black said. But, "when you build a very expensive restaurant, you need a revenue stream other than just dinner. In my opinion, lunch just isn't a viable option on 14th Street, which is why we've asked for the full ABRA hours."

That decision tied ANC2F's hands in terms of filing its own protest. "It's the belief that the majority of the community is in favor of this restaurant," said 2F Chairman Charles Reed, but if Black were granted full ABRA hours, the ANC would likely be forced to allow other restaurants on the block to do the same, and "it's the sense of this community that we don't want to do that." The commissioners later voted unanimously to file a protest to the ABC Board.

So Black will have to wait and see what happens now on Nov. 1. Should Pearl Dive and BlackJack be forced to open with limited hours, he's not sure he'll be able to move forward. "It would depend on how early," Black says, but "it would probably hinder us opening."