The Newsroom

Friendliest staff! And they have a great selection of foriegn magazines

I love the Newsroom! The guys there are always friendly and willing to make you whatever kind of food or coffee you want. I go there every morning for a sandwich and coffee. Coolest people ever.

Someone gave The Newsroom one star because they thought it was closed??? That’s not a Unilocal review, folks. That’s just thinking out loud.
So I am giving The Newsroom four stars to balance out the crazies. It’s a perfectly good magazine shop that used to have more reading materials but fell victim to iBooks and Nooks, etc., like every other bookstore. That said, it still has foreign language bits and bobs upstairs and greeting cards. And there’s free wifi. And, if you’ve got family or friends from out of town, there are touristy cards and t-​shirts, etc.
By the way, the staff there have always been nice to me – so weigh that against the one-​star guy who thinks they’re rude. I guess every place has its bad days…

6 bucks for a sandwich with one slice of meat and two pieces of thick heavy bread?!? I’ll pass!

This Newsroom is a go-​to place for foreign magazines. They still have one of the better selections of foreign newspapers in town, although those are getting harder to come by since papers just aren’t distributing as widely as they used to. Still, you can get LeMonde, Le Figaro, Guardian Weekly, Arabic-​language newspapers and others. On request they will print out any paper of your choice from a list of about 400 foreign newspapers. It has a great magazine selection in all major categories, domestic and international. Everything is well-​kept and well-​organized and the service is great. It’s also a deli and a gift shop with tourist trinkets and T-​shirts.

Um… why does it still say CLOSED? They’ve reopened the place for a while now… anyway, I give the Newsroom 5 stars just because DC lacks so many places like this. They have all the tourist goods but also a decent selection of foreign papers and obscure magazines to cater to almost any artsy fartsy taste. Plus their coffee’s better than that burnt stuff from starbucks.

Uh oh — Did the Newsroom close?
Is the Newsroom another casualty of the demise of print?
I walked by yesterday and it was closed.
What I could see inside looked packed up.
Please tell me I’m mistaken.
I too loved the Newsroom.
Anna Maria’s Italian Restaurant — down Connecticut Avenue — also looks closed.
What’s happening to the world of 20^th century Connecticut Avenue?

When nursing fantasies about living in a foreign city become too much, I sometimes wander in here and thumb through the decent (although not excellent) selection of international magazines. French-​language publications seem to get the best representation, although they’re often months out of date (with no visible price reduction, which always strikes me as a bit odd). This place doesn’t quite live up to its potential, but it’ll do.

«Say Hello to Bilingual Books!» says the poster by the register at The Newsroom. Say hello to hundreds of different foreign-​language newspapers and exotic French fashion magazines. Say hello to empanadas, scones, and other vaguely international baked goods, warming in a glass pastry case. The newsroom is also a café.
I was originally attracted to this shop by the Tin-​Tin children’s books in the front window – particularly the Tin-​Tin episode called «The Shooting Star», which features a hilarious cover, with Tin-​tin and his dog gaping at was is unmistakably a gigantic polka dot psychedellic mushroom, sprouting on a beach. This particular copy was faded by the over-​exposure to the sun, having sat in the store window, and so I asked for a discount. No dice – it was still $ 17.95. Upstairs, I found the same book, in perfect condition, only in Spanish: «La Estrella Misteriosa»…I will hold out for a good English copy.
Overall, this place has a pretty weird feel to it… how do they stay in business? The upstairs «internet café» is merely a couple of business desks and a display of French maps, in a bare, carpeted room… at least is has a lot of sunlight and a view of Connecticutt ave… but you’d think they could find a better use for this space.

Things to love about News Room:
— FREE Wi-​Fi!!!
— Foreign magazines (especially the european fashion mags) and all the newspapers you could possibly want
— Great maps, in all shapes and sizes, of various cities
This may not be a cutie hipster café, but it’s a super place to grab a cup of coffee and head upstairs with your laptop or paper and catch a few quiet hours to do whatcha gotta do.