Joe Englert is the owner of Temperance Hall. He partnered with developers Josh Adler and Robb Lakritz of Lakritz/Adler to create Temperance Hall. (See the Temperance Hall section under My Testimonial for more information.) Joe Englert owns a number of retaurants/bars all accross D.C., including Lucky Bar, The Big Hunt, Capitol Lounge, and State of the Union just to name a few. He is currently opening several new establishments on H Street N.E., helping revitalize that area.

Joe Englert was kind enough to provide me a statement that details his interaction with Sinclair Skinner. Keep in mind that when I called Adrian Fenty to talk about Sinclair Skinner he told me that he loved Temperance Hall and that he would talk to Lakritz and Adler about the situation. He said something to the effect that if Skinner did in fact act the way I described he would have a hard time keeping him on his staff. Fenty called me a few days later and said that Lakritz and Adler wanted to let bygons be bygons, Fenty took this to mean that nothing happened. I think any rational person could read between the lines and see that a developer might not want to get on a politicians bad side, especially one who very well could be Mayor in a few months. I think Mr. Englert clears up any confusion below.

Without further adeiu, below is Joe Englert's statement.

______________________________________________________________

"I was in the process of opening Temperance. And it was patently ridiculous when local Petworth activist Sinclair Skinner came to my establishment on Capitol Hill and confronted me with the comment that the only persons of color I had working there happened to be in the kitchen. (Totally untrue, by the way). Throughout the process of securing the license, Skinner made one outrageous comment after another about race and business and questioned why a white man wanted to do business on Georgia Ave. Several times I was even asked if I was Jewish. I had to take it all in stride.

Imagine my shock, when just a few months later, when Mr. Skinner starts popping up everywhere with Adrian Fenty. Rumor has it that Mr. Skinner would even be employed as a member of Fenty's economic development team. As a member of many professional organizations, I had encountered Mr. Fenty when lobbying for the interests of small businesses. No one I had met (with the exception of Phil Mendelson) had been more hostile or dismissive of small businesses. And it gave me great pause (and still does) that Fenty had aligned himself with a person with this way of thinking. I am very afraid that Mr. Fenty in his drive to pave the entire city with a green forest of campaign signs has not stopped to think about what kind of individuals he has working with or for him. I for one, fear what will happen to businesses in general and restaurants in particular if he comes into office. And if you talk to any politically aware businessman, you will find the same reservations."