Andrew Lightman

Maxwell Park, at the corner of Ninth and O Streets NW, offers 50 wines by the glass. Another 300 cases lie waiting in the basement. The establishment’s selection changes monthly. All bottles are carefully chilled to their correct temperature. The establishment’s two partners, Brent Kroll and JT Garczyński and general manager Connor Williams regularly staff the floor. All three are experienced sommeliers. On a Saturday afternoon, a friend and I sat down at the restaurant’s expansive bar.

The fresh, floral fragrance greets visitors immediately upon entrance to Lee’s Flower And Card Shop at 1026 U St. NW. An attractive front counter is framed by greeting cards and fronted by bountiful bouquets. To the right, customers may peruse attractive shelves of flowers and house plants. The orchids and day lily arrangements particularly catch the eye. The shop has literally hundreds of varieties, most of which are held safely in a room-sized cooler.

Industrial Bank President and CEO B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. cannot walk into one of the nearly century-old bank’s branches without getting buttonholed by a customer. A tall elegantly dressed man in his early sixties, he pauses with each one. He is clearly a man who loves his work. “Customers were the ones who built the bank,” said Mitchell, Jr. “We are still there for the folks who don’t feel comfortable at larger commercial banks.” “There is something special about coming into our branches.