The guys behind Standard aren’t exactly taking it easy while their popular 14th Street barbecue spot and outdoor beer garden is closed for the winter. According to a liquor license application posted in the window of Well Built furniture store, located on the corner of 14th and Q Streets NW, Standard pit master Tad Curtz is busy cooking up an entirely different concept for that storefront: a new Italian-themed eatery with seating for 85 diners.

Contacted by Y&H, Curtz was mum on the specifics beyond those listed on the regulatory notice. “We tend to be very superstitious and don’t want to say anything more until details are worked out,” he says.

The furniture store, meanwhile, confirms that it is closing at the end of January.

A hearing on Curtz’s application is scheduled for Feb. 21.

Photo by Russell Warnick