Downtown's Chickpea in the D Does Late-Night Waffles as Peggy Day's

A year into business as one of downtown's few affordable, healthy lunch spots, and now Chickpea in the D is looking to up its offerings by serving Belgian-style waffles topped with gelato under the establishment's new concept. Beginning October 2, once Chickpea closes for the day, signage will change and the 60-square-foot space will reopen as Peggy Day's Belgian-Style Waffles between 7 p.m. and midnight.

The idea, similar to the concept of now-shuttered Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes which long ago occupied the tiny kitchen, is to appeal to downtown's growing dinner crowd (new, popular eateries like Wright & Co. are nearby) who might be strolling around after date night and be looking for a little something sweet. Owner David Ayyash says while he gets a decent crowd from foot traffic during lunch by office workers, actual downtown residents who work out of the area don't get much of a chance to try his food. This would be a fun way to get them to his window.

Ayyash says the menu, inspired by dessert waffle makers in New York and Toronto, will start off simply, with waffles created with house-made batter and topped with a dollop of vanilla gelato. Eventually he would like to get more creative with the toppings, with raspberry gelato or sauce and chocolate. Vegan options will also be on the menu. Says Ayyash: "We don't have much space to do more than one thing, so we just want to focus on doing one fun menu item right."