"Lunch Spot: A stone's throw from blue- chip steak houses and trendy ethnic eateries,
C.F. Folks has become the place for a quick bite."
The goal was simple: find a five-day-a-week job, with nights and weekend off.
After more than 30 years of doing just that, Art Carlson and Peggy Fredricksen can safely look at each other and say; mission accomplished. The pair started in real estate. Carlson worked for companies such as Tauber and Charles E. Smith. Fredricksen also worked for real estate developers. But they wanted a place of their own, a manageable place where they could make their own hours and their own rules. The Jefferson Coffee Shop at 1225 19th St. N.W. seemed to be just
what they were looking for.
In the early 1960's, it had started out as "Linda's" but was sold to Pete and Ruby Pelecanos in in 1964. The Pelecanoses -- the parents of popular D.C. crime novelist George Pelecanos -- operated the restaurant in the Jefferson Building for 13 years. "It was a fast food type of place," says Ruby Pelecanos. "We had hamburgers, hot dogs, steak and cheese. We did a lot of carryout." The 19th Street neighborhood below Dupont Circle was much quieter then. The Palm
Restaurant was (and still is) next door but that was it. The customers were largely from the law firms that surrounded the building, sprinkled with a few blue collar workers. "IBM was there. The house next door was Teddy Roosevelt's home and it was where the original Arnold, Fortis and Porter was," says Ruby Pelecanos, 80. "Our building was brand new when we moved in. We didn't have a sign on the building itself. On the door it said Jefferson Coffee Shop. If you didn't know we were there, you couldn't even see us."
After the Pelecanoses sold it, the Jefferson Coffee Shop changed hand a couple of times before it was bought by Carlson and Fredricksen.They dubbed the place C.F. Folks (the C.F. stands for Carlson and Fredricksen). They began with a Southern-style menu and a no-frills look. Breakfast service petered out after about five years. The daily lunch specials--about 70percent of their sales on any given day -- focused on stews, fresh chicken and open faced roast beef sandwiches.
Even after a second mortgage on the house and pouring significant capital into C.F. Folks, the first two years didn't go so well. Carlson took a part-time job as a cook at Cousteau's, a seafood restaurant on L Street. On a typical day he rose early to visit a nearby market, worked through lunch at his restaurant and then finished up the evening at Cousteau's. "I was thinking 'What are we doing'" says Carlson, drawing on a Marlboro. "I was looking for sufficient income to hire a cook, and it took me two and a half years. We went through a learning process." As time went on, C.F. Folks attracted a following. It was lauded by Gourmet magazine and regularly among The Washington Post's Best Restaurants.
The decor hasn't changed a bit, except for the 11 green stools that were e-covered eight years ago. A cooler for drinks in the corner and a tiny kitchen is in the back. Table edges are rubbing through green-and-white speckled tablecloths. The walls are decorated with politically themed pencil drawings by Jose Perez, a formally local artist. There are 10 outdoor tables and a dark green canopy extending to the sidewalk.
After eight years business was good. Carlson and Fredricksen decided to branch out. Across the street they launched a catering operation, which Fredricksen runs. In 1986 they started the Well Dressed Burrito, a Mexican carryout next-door to the catering operation.
Little has changed during Carlson's tenure at C.F. Folks. The media folk who used to drop in disappeared when CBS and NPR's offices moved. The clientele is still predominantly professional men "who want to come in, have a good meal and be gone in 20 to 25 minutes." There have been a few improvements: The fish and meat have gotten better, menus have become more elaborate, prices have only doubled, and the restaurant takes plastic. "I have 150 recipes that will feed into this place over the next year," says Carlson, who keeps a crowded bookshelf of cookbooks in the restaurant and subscribes to dozens of food magazines. The problem with today's restaurants, he says is they get caught up in theatrics and showiness.
"Buy well," he says "Buy the best you can, and then say 'How little can I do with it?'" His rules are like his food: basic and easy. Buy good olive oil. Use only butter. Make presentation simple; don't needlessly clutter dishes. Large portions are ridiculous. "It's what I want; it's always what I wanted." Carlson says of C.F. Folks. "The way we were gonna do it is how we've done it."
Eleni Kretikos, Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL