‘DC has changed’: Restaurant owners weigh city’s recent wave of closures – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash)
Several high-profile restaurants in Washington’s central neighborhoods have closed in recent months, leaving owners to assess how post-pandemic shifts in work routines and rising expenses are reshaping the local dining scene. The affected areas include Downtown, Chinatown, and Penn Quarter, where foot traffic once supported a dense cluster of establishments. Industry participants now describe a city that has moved away from its pre-2020 patterns of daily office presence and evening crowds.
Closures Span Multiple Neighborhoods
Within the past six months, Cranes, Arrels, Michele’s, and Tonari ended operations. Earlier closures included Tony Cheng’s, Kinship, and Métier, which shut in late 2025 after a decade in business near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. These exits occurred in quick succession and involved both independent operators and established names. The timing coincides with broader adjustments in how residents and visitors use downtown spaces. Many of the closed venues had relied on consistent weekday lunch and dinner traffic that has not fully returned.
Owners Point to Labor Rules and Daily Realities
Eric Ziebold, who operated Kinship and Métier, explained that he could not identify conditions stable enough to justify renewing a lease. He cited reduced office attendance, concerns over traffic and parking, and uncertainty around labor expenses. Initiative 82, approved by voters in 2022, originally called for raising the tipped minimum wage to $17.50 by 2027. The D.C. Council paused the schedule in June 2025 and later repealed the measure, replacing it with a slower increase tied to 75 percent of the city’s standard minimum wage by 2034. Ziebold noted that frequent policy adjustments make long-term financial planning difficult. “How do you sign an extension when you have no idea of how you’re supposed to pay your employees?” he said. Similar calculations appear across the sector, where food costs have risen 34 percent since before the pandemic, according to National Restaurant Association research. Jeffrey Bank, owner of Carmine’s in Penn Quarter, described a city that has undergone repeated transformations. His 20,000-square-foot space has adapted by offering dine-in, takeout, and private events, yet he still tracks perceptions of safety and the pace of office returns. Kevin Tien, chef-owner of Moon Rabbit in Chinatown, added that menu prices cannot rise fast enough to match input costs without deterring customers, particularly on items such as desserts.
Data Shows Modest Gains in Attendance
The Downtown Business Improvement District’s “State of Downtown D.C.” 2025 report recorded office attendance at 48 percent from March through December, a four-percentage-point increase over the comparable period in 2024. Growth slowed during federal job reductions and a government shutdown, but levels stayed above the prior year’s average. Overall foot traffic rose 2.5 percent year over year. These figures suggest gradual stabilization rather than a full rebound. Gerren Price, president and CEO of the Downtown BID, observed that the balance between new restaurant openings and closures has remained positive despite the recent losses. He described 2025 as a particularly difficult year for operators because of combined increases in food and labor expenses.
Operators Weigh Next Steps
Bank expressed optimism tied to the reopening of Capital One Arena and the potential conversion of vacant office buildings into housing or other uses. Tien welcomed new retail arrivals, including a Barnes & Noble on F Street NW and an H&M on G Street NW, which he believes can draw additional visitors beyond office workers or event attendees. Ziebold, however, stated he will not open another restaurant in the city until a consistent model emerges for an extended period. Price noted that the current pattern of openings and closings may indicate the market is beginning to settle, even if the adjustment remains uneven for individual businesses. The coming months will test whether these incremental improvements in attendance translate into sustained viability for remaining restaurants.
