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Pizzeria Paradiso, Founder Ruth Gresser's Pizzerias with a Good Beer Selection


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After kayaking on the Potomac tonight*, trekked with a group over to the Georgetown Paradiso. Hopping busy (when is it not?), we lucked into an 8-top downstairs in the bar.

Our order appeared in what seemed no more than five minutes, amazingly efficient. Two Paradisos, one Siciliana, and several brews for the table later, nothing too remarkable to report. Same crust characteristics as noted above, with self-composed olive oil/sea salt mix saving the day.

Then again, what tastes better than pizza and beer after kayaking*?

(and what's going to feel better)

(than a shower)

(eeeewwww potomac water)

*Jack's Boathouse, $12 an hour, a brilliant idea for an unusual, small-group excursion on a weeknight. Parking and other logistics were a snap. Bring a cooler of your favorite beverages, fire up their gratis grills, hang out on their waterfront patio, it's all included in the fee. If we'd known that, we would have done that.

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Ate at the Dupont location for the first time last night. The service was as friendly and charming as the Georgetown location and the beer selection, while not as large, was still of sterling quality with some true rare gems (Wine barrel aged Smoke from the Oak Ahhhhhhhhhh......) The pizza however - not so much. The crust on both the calzone and atomica we got were excessively dry and quite bland. Quite a few steps down from what I usually get at the Georgetown location. Disappointing.

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Wow - I can't believe the Old Town Alexandria location hasn't even been mentioned in this thread, much less the fact that it is now OPEN (and has been for a couple weeks)! I'm not sure how I missed this, but I was very excited to find out during an afternoon stroll yesterday. While it was a little too close on the heels of finishing a late breakfast to dive into the full menu, we did have a beer and share a small Bosco at seats in front of the pizza oven. Things were running like clockwork, staff seemed happy, and everything coming out of the oven and the salad/other station looked delicious - and it was a lot of fun watching pizzas and salads being made in front of us.

(a little different than our experience a month or so back at the other new pizza place that also recently opened a few blocks up the road)

Our pizza was very good, though maybe a little under-seasoned - easily remedied with salt, red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil. Not sure if this was due to the fact that the sauce appeared to consist of nothing more than crushed tomatoes (something to be said for simplicity), or our vegetarian toppings. The draft beer list is interesting, as it is at the other locations.

I'm looking forward to heading back and sampling the other offerings - though our waiter said that it's been pretty busy and you're almost guaranteed a wait for a table during prime dinner hours, with a shorter wait if you're willing to sit at the bar where we sat.

Time to update the thread title!

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I forgot to mention they were opened. I stopped by the other day to see if they had gluten free pizzas yet, apparently they are working on it and they hope to have one developed soon. I hope soon really is soon because this place is uber convenient to my office.

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First visit to the Old Town location recently. We ordered the Paradiso with sausage and capers, and Atomica with olives, spicy salami and I think crushed red peppers. Both were excellent. The dough has 00 and semolina which adds a nice chewiness and puffy crust around the edges. They sell the dough for $5 (for a small-I'm going to try it myself by adding semolina to my recipe instead of all 00).

I'm really digging the pizza! The ingredients were generous and high quality. Very nice service.

I'm happy they opened up on King St. Next, Red Rocks so I can compare...

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For some reason, we never came here until earlier this year. This was probably because the two locations were in town, and I didn't see much point to driving in or metroing in for pizza and beer. Fortunately, they opened their Old Town location, and we discovered it with a friend who loves beer.

We had the wheat crust earlier this week, at the Old Town location. I did not care for it at all. We had this with a special pizza, pesto and ricotta and portobello mushrooms. It was more like a whole wheat lavash in flavor than a pizza crust. Dumping salt and Parmesan on the pizza helped, but not much. Next time, we'll stick with the white crust.

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Pizzaria Paradiso in Old Town Alexandria is having an all-day happy hour for beer to celebrate opening their renovated bar area and giving away branded glasses. I could do some serious liver and brain damage there if we didn't have dinner plans.

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I used to go to PP fairly regularly but years ago; long before there was a second location. Then they expanded to Georgetown...and Old Town. I was last there (G'Town) maybe a year or so ago and don't recall what I thought; nothing extreme good or bad I guess. Know we had lunch upstairs then so didn't partake of the beers.

Had been several years since I was last at the original location on P St...until this past weekend when I stopped in. At first, I thought a big expansion had happened while I'd lost track of what PP was up to. Then remembered that the large and comfortable Dupont shop wasn't expanded. It was different. They'd moved from just down the street a few years ago and I hadn't been there since.

Don has "over-rated pizza" and kudos for the beer list in his Dining Guide. I'd have to say that's still spot on though I do question whether "overrated" is still reflective of the buzz? Not sure.

My pizza simply lacked flavor in every respect. I ordered a Margherita and asked that they switch out the default mozz with buffalo mozz and add some sausage. As the waitress brought take 1, she realized something was off and, before it hit the table, asked "did you want the buffalo INSTEAD of the regular or IN ADDITION." She asked this in a way that made clear she knew the answer. They put the buffalo on top of the cows milk mozz?!?! Back it went.

When Take 2 came out with just the buffalo mozz, my first concern was the thickness of the crust; as in too much for a pizza napoletana. Second concern was the relative lack of any char around the perimeter.

PIcked a piece of sausage, which looked the part, from the pizza to try it alone. Nothing. Virtually no salt let alone discernible flavor. Then took a bit of cheeze. Bland. Finally, a full and proper bite. The crust was just the taste of bland bread.

Did like that you get a small dish of nicely marinated olives--without charge--on the table. And the beer program was impressive. But what has happened to Pizza Paradiso? Was my experience an "off day" (it wasn't at all crowded)? Have others been here recently and had better pizza experiences? Based on just this one recent visit, the distance between Two Amys and this is vast. It didn't used to be that way. But I think I'm thinking back too long ago; maybe even back to when Peter Pastan was involved in the business.

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Don has "over-rated pizza" and kudos for the beer list in his Dining Guide. I'd have to say that's still spot on though I do question whether "overrated" is still reflective of the buzz? Not sure.

This is an astute observation and question, and I'm not sure what the answer is. Quite often in the past, I've had to use the dreaded words "overrated" and "underrated" mainly because of Zagat's, Fodor's, The Post, The Washingtonian, etc., but I'm not sure who was rating Pizzeria Paradiso's pizza so highly for so many years after it had fallen (if it was ever any good at all) - maybe the Washingtonian readers' poll, I don't know - but I do remember a strong need to compensate for a grossly overrated restaurant who had no qualms about trumpeting their ratings in national publications (you won't find my reviews on their website, that's for sure) although I do enjoy a pizza and beer there from time to time (as long as I don't have to eat the crust at the end).

Let us also not forget that Thor Cheston ran one of the very first (if not *the* very first serious beer program) in the basement of the Georgetown "Birreria" Paradiso - that is what this restaurant should be remembered for. It was at the vanguard of the serious beer movement in the Washington, DC area; before that it was The Brickskeller, then along came Brasserie Beck, and it was good night, nurse.

I still have to occasionally come out harder than I want to against those publications, but less so than I used to - I think that has simply come with years of experience (not to mention clever resourcefulness and being wise enough to recognize certain things). Unfortunate forces are still preventing the corrections from occurring as quickly as they should, but they're occurring nonetheless, and "The Calibration" is for the most part taking place. It's a good thing.

Now, about Zaytinya ...

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But what has happened to Pizza Paradiso? Was my experience an "off day" (it wasn't at all crowded)? Have others been here recently and had better pizza experiences? Based on just this one recent visit, the distance between Two Amys and this is vast. It didn't used to be that way. But I think I'm thinking back too long ago; maybe even back to when Peter Pastan was involved in the business.

I've never had a pizza at Pizza Paradiso in the last five years, including the original P St. location, that I'd consider Neapolitan. I've always put it in the 'wood fire' category and I think it performs admirably against that competition. The key to enjoying a PP pizza is to get more aggressive toppings, cured meat, olives, fontina etc. etc. and let the crust serve more as a delivery device. And if you want to eat your crust, use the olive oil and cheese on the table. My most recent PP pizza in Georgetown was slightly better than what I've come to expect from PP. Overall I'd say its a great restaurant for beer that serves affordable and enjoyable (but not great) food.

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I've never had a pizza at Pizza Paradiso in the last five years, including the original P St. location, that I'd consider Neapolitan. I've always put it in the 'wood fire' category and I think it performs admirably against that competition. The key to enjoying a PP pizza is to get more aggressive toppings, cured meat, olives, fontina etc. etc. and let the crust serve more as a delivery device. And if you want to eat your crust, use the olive oil and cheese on the table. My most recent PP pizza in Georgetown was slightly better than what I've come to expect from PP. Overall I'd say its a great restaurant for beer that serves affordable and enjoyable (but not great) food.

This actually helps quite a bit, thetrain. In essence, your view is that PP is a fundamentally different type of place than it was years ago by design and that certainly seems to be the case. I might gently challenge your use of the term "enjoyable" to describe what I was served but that'll vary depending on the perspective.

Curious, I checked their website after reading your post and, sure enough, it's all about the beer program and generally aggressive promotion. No doubt that has been a very successful formula for the owner. Cut the costs of ingredients going into the food and focus on alcohol sales for profit. To their credit, they seem to have done that well. The beer program is impressive. Maybe not quite at the level of Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia but still excellent. Come to think of it, Victoria is a similar, beer-led, business model.

There is the one section of the site that I see which could be termed a tad misrepresentative....

We opened Pizzeria Paradiso so we could make the kind of pizza we longed for but couldn’t find in the DC area; the kind of pizza where the crust

was the most important part.

...given that the crust borders on awful and the above was probably true 10 or so years ago but went the way of PP's 'repositioning' at least 5 years ago.

But we have to give them that. The above is in the 'About Us' section of site so not front and center on the home page. BTW, I was curious how a restaurant like this that has been around so long (pre land grab days) didn't get it's url. They're found online with a generic url and the pizza paradiso url is owned by another pizzeria in Maui of all places. From the photos, their pies look about the same as PP. Though they also sell cheese steaks, gyros, kabobs and baba ghannouj. No beer though. :P

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I've never had a pizza at Pizza Paradiso in the last five years, including the original P St. location, that I'd consider Neapolitan. I've always put it in the 'wood fire' category and I think it performs admirably against that competition. The key to enjoying a PP pizza is to get more aggressive toppings, cured meat, olives, fontina etc. etc. and let the crust serve more as a delivery device. And if you want to eat your crust, use the olive oil and cheese on the table. My most recent PP pizza in Georgetown was slightly better than what I've come to expect from PP. Overall I'd say its a great restaurant for beer that serves affordable and enjoyable (but not great) food.

I had been to the Georgetown location years ago, and have little memory of it, but went to the Alexandria location in early January. It was obviously underwhelming enough that I didn't feel the need to report on it here, but wanted to echo the comments above.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by having Menomale a few blocks from my house and Red Rocks a short drive away, but my +1 and I were both pretty disappointed in our pizzas at PP. The toppings were fine, but the crust was really blah. I was hungry enough that I ate a few of the leftover crusts dipped in the table olive oil, as mentioned above, and it was ok, but still not that great. And there really is a lot of crust on each pizza.

Unless I'm invited to meet people there and don't have any input in where we are going, I don't see myself going back.

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(if it was ever any good at all)

I've never understood the hate for PP. First, even if you don't like it, you have to at least respect its history, and the fact that Peter Pastan (the original owner) single-handedly changed the pizza game in this city 25 years ago when he opened PP. For years it had two-hour waits to get a table. The pizza was excellent and unlike anything else available.

Second, comparing it to 2 Amys is pointless. May as well compare it to Ledo or Pete's Apizza. They are all different styles of pie (and I love each for what it is).

Third, the Atomica is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. We eat at 2Amys every two weeks or so, but maybe every other month we go to Dupont instead for an Atomica. I've never had issues with flavor or texture of the crust, and there's always a bottle of decent olive oil and a little dish of olives at hand. Why compare it to a 2Amy's Margherita? May as well compare braised lamb shanks to roast chicken.

Fourth, the beer selection is great, especially the on-draft list.

Yesterday at lunch I silently drank to Peter Pastan for starting the revolution in DC. I'm grateful we have so many wonderful pizza places to choose from.

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I am a pizza snob, hailing from 60s Brooklyn pizza. In the old days, maybe even a decade ago, every time I went to Brooklyn, I would drop my bags and run to the nearest pizza place. Nowadays, I never do that. With PP, Pupatella, Orso, Piola, and Vapiano, and Bronx Pizza, I am all set right here in my own backyard.

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I share Porcupine's deep respect for Peter Pastan's role in introducing DC to great pizza. And, PP does have a good beer program.

That said, and just my own view, Pizza Paradiso's pizza is nothing like what it used to be. Peter is no longer involved in the business. It's not a question of love or hate. PP clearly has many followers. It's just an opinion and mine is that, differences in style aside, spots like 2Amys, Pupatella and Orso are the current top tier from a quality perspective. PP seems to me more focused on beer than on great artisan pizza. And, again just my view, but Vapiano, a chain restaurant with a huge, mostly pasta menu, isn't in the same galaxy as those other spots, style differences aside.

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I've never understood the hate for PP. First, even if you don't like it, you have to at least respect its history, and the fact that Peter Pastan (the original owner) single-handedly changed the pizza game in this city 25 years ago when he opened PP. For years it had two-hour waits to get a table. The pizza was excellent and unlike anything else available.

You know what? I had forgotten that Peter Pastan opened this restaurant. Based on that alone, I have *no doubt* that it was excellent when he was there, and that explains why it remained so overrated for so long - restaurants develop momentum and inertia, both of which continue long, long after they're no longer great. I don't ever remember Pizzeria Paradiso being great, but Pastan's tenure there was before my time. I could name thousands of businesses that were once great, and while I respect their moments of greatness (refer to Pilsner Urquell just as one example), that respect is long gone, and essentially meaningless other than from an academic point of view.

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Stopped in for lunch yesterday at the Old Town location, and enjoyed a Miniera (which is basically a plain cheese pizza with your choice of three-toppings). I had pepperoni, roasted garlic and oregano. The garlic was more toasted than roasted, but still very good. I'd say Paradiso makes a very good pizza, even if their authentic Neopolitan isn't very authentic. For the record, I would take a pizza from Vace over Two Amy's any day of the week, so my tastes probably don't run toward the authentic anyway.

Paradiso doesn't get enough praise for their beer list. Their draught list isn't just large and varied, it's also accompanied by informative, vivid descriptions. Yesterday I had a Terrapin Mosaic Single Hopped Rye Ale and it was a shame that I got the last glass because I would have enjoyed another. It was a little bitter, but also incredibly smooth. It's always a safe bet that I'll try something new every time I'm there. I'm glad to have this place in Old Town.

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Paradiso doesn't get enough praise for their beer list. Their draught list isn't just large and varied, it's also accompanied by informative, vivid descriptions. Yesterday I had a Terrapin Mosaic Single Hopped Rye Ale and it was a shame that I got the last glass because I would have enjoyed another. It was a little bitter, but also incredibly smooth. It's always a safe bet that I'll try something new every time I'm there. I'm glad to have this place in Old Town. 

I know I qualify as something of a "historian" at this point, but other than places like The Brickskeller, Birreria Paradiso in Georgetown had the first real beer program in the DC area - and it wasn't all that long ago (think back to when Thor Cheston opened Birreria Paradiso - what else was there? I would guess there are well over 100 restaurants now that would have had the best beer program in the DC area back then.)

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Just had lunch at the OT location.  I had the veggie pizza, it wasn't bad at all, not noteable either, just reporting in.  I normally only go here for HH beer, but they were fast and convenient for lunch if you work in south OT.  I was surprised at the size of the antipasta plates, might get one of those next time, it would make a decent lunch, but wasn't overwhelming large either.  

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Just had lunch at the OT location.  I had the veggie pizza, it wasn't bad at all, not noteable either, just reporting in.  I normally only go here for HH beer, but they were fast and convenient for lunch if you work in south OT.  I was surprised at the size of the antipasta plates, might get one of those next time, it would make a decent lunch, but wasn't overwhelming large either.  

I had dinner there within the past couple of months, and also felt the pizza wasn't bad, but not notable.

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On 2/2/2006 at 2:05 PM, Joe Riley said:

My friend Thor Cheston, who is a manager at Paradiso, is going to be heading up this project of theirs. Thor is a beer enthusiast of the first order, and this should be exciting! Drop by and say, "Hello!" and have a great beer on draught and some of this city's best pizza.

3282 M St., NW Washington, DC 202-337-1245

Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown is proud to introduce Birreria Paradiso, a sixteen tap draft bar featuring 80 bottled selections of microbrews, artisinal and handcrafted beers from around the world. Enjoy pilsners, ales, lagers, and stouts in our newly renovated lower level dining room and bar, where you will be able to feast on our Quattro Formaggi Pizza and a Belgian tripel like Gouden Carolus, or a Bosco Pizza and a Saison Dupont on draft. Then, top off your meal with our vanilla gelato paired with North Coast's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. We will be offering our complete menu, wine list, and a full bar in addition to the new selection of beers. Most of our longtime favorites are available, including Rogue's Dead Guy Ale, Dogfish Head's 60-minute IPA on tap, and Moretti and Amstel Light in bottles. We will also be serving some standards like Corona,, Miller Lite and Samuel Adams. All of the new beers will also be available in the main dining room upstairs.

Before Birreria Paradiso opened with Thor Cheston in 2006, there was NOTHING in the DC area except The Brickskeller (which was more of a novelty than a serious beer haus), and I mean the best you could do was a Hoffbrau - and that's if you were lucky. Then, after that, along came Robert Wiedemaier, Greg Engert and Brasserie Beck, and we were off to the races. 

This was only 13-years ago.

"On Fire [an Interview with Ruth Gresser]" by David Hagedorn on bethesdamagazine.com

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7 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Before Birreria Paradiso opened with Thor Cheston in 2006, there was NOTHING in the DC area except The Brickskeller (which was more of a novelty than a serious beer haus), and I mean the best you could do was a Hoffbrau - and that's if you were lucky. Then, after that, along came Robert Wiedemaier, Greg Engert and Brasserie Beck, and we were off to the races. 

This was only 13-years ago.

"On Fire [an Interview with Ruth Gresser]" by David Hagedorn on bethesdamagazine.com

The Brickskeller was all we had in the '80s when we wanted to taste serious beer from around the world. A group of us took a colleague there who was a Navy SEAL, and we ordered beers around the table. He ordered a "Silver Bullet" Coors Lite. They actually had it, but it the ribbing he took made for a memorable evening.

Around that time, Union Street Pub in Alexandria was serving a beer that was brewed for them in the local area. And then came Capital City Brewery near the Greyhound Station downtown. I can't remember all the reasons that good beer places were so rare back then....

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1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

Before Birreria Paradiso opened with Thor Cheston in 2006, there was NOTHING in the DC area except The Brickskeller (which was more of a novelty than a serious beer haus), and I mean the best you could do was a Hoffbrau - and that's if you were lucky. Then, after that, along came Robert Wiedemaier, Greg Engert and Brasserie Beck, and we were off to the races. 

This was only 13-years ago.

"On Fire [an Interview with Ruth Gresser]" by David Hagedorn on bethesdamagazine.com

The Big Hunt was an early player in the DC craft scene.  Dave Coleman was the GM and Beer Director at The Big Hunt and then went on to found 3 Stars Brewing.  The references I can find online is that Coleman was beer director at The Big Hunt in 2006, if not earlier.  My guess is his efforts predate Birreria Paradiso, probably by a couple of years. 

The Reef opened in 2001/02.  When it closed in 2013, most media reports noted that it was one of DC's first bars to focus on craft beers.  The First DC bar to have Chimay and Allagash White on tap (according to the Post

RFD opened in 2005(?), which of course had the same owners at the Brickskeller, and the same problems with keeping beers in stock.

Rustico also opened in 2006, with 250 bottles and 30 taps. 

Granville Moore's helped jump start things on H Street, NE in 2007 with a Belgium beer focus.

Brasserie Beck opened in 2007 (was originally slated to open in 2006)

ChurchKey was delayed and finally opened in 2009.

Meridan Pint opened in 2010.

I'm sure there are other notable additions.  Such as The Saloon on U Street, which opened in 2000.  There was a previous Georgetown location, but I'm not familiar with its history nor beer selection.

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1 hour ago, Tweaked said:

I'm sure there are other notable additions.  Such as The Saloon on U Street, which opened in 2000.  There was a previous Georgetown location, but I'm not familiar with its history nor beer selection.

Memories are always personal things, but the best beer I've had in America was at The Saloun in Georgetown around 1990 (here's the backstory on the name) - they'd just gotten a fresh keg of Späten Oktoberfest, and it was ethereal - my friend and I took one sip, and both looked up at each other at the same moment, eyes like saucers (and here's *that* backstory).

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On 2/26/2019 at 4:01 PM, Tweaked said:

The Reef opened in 2001/02.  When it closed in 2013, most media reports noted that it was one of DC's first bars to focus on craft beers.  The First DC bar to have Chimay and Allagash White on tap (according to the Post

I'm sure there are other notable additions.  

Bedrock had a small, and good, selection of craft beer before that. I remember when Brian Harrison was the new manager there, long before the Reef, and the beer selection at Bedrock was already decent before he got there.

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Good one SAF!

Reminded me that Galaxy Hut should also receive recognition.  According to their website they opened in 1990 and they claim to be the DC areas first craft beer bar.  True or not, I have no idea, but certainly an early player in the DC craft beer scene (and also an important music venue).

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7 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

Good one SAF!

Reminded me that Galaxy Hut should also receive recognition.  According to their website they opened in 1990 and they claim to be the DC areas first craft beer bar.  True or not, I have no idea, but certainly an early player in the DC craft beer scene (and also an important music venue).

Thanks! Although, thinking about it a bit more, he did come from the Big Hunt, which was still fairly new at that point. So, no surprise he kept up the beer thing that Deneen had started.

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1 hour ago, jandres374 said:

From the article:

"Its locations in Dupont Circle and Spring Valley Village remain open for dine-in, takeout and delivery. The location in Hyattsville, Maryland, also remains open for dine in pickup and delivery. Its Georgetown location is open for takeout and delivery."

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17 hours ago, Bart said:

This sucks.

And from the article:  Owner Ruth Gresser cites the reason to close permanently as unsuccessful lease negotiations.

This sucks, even worse.

I've heard this from every restaurant owner I've spoken with or read about. Property owners don't seem to be budging on rents - at all.  

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I wonder if it was a COVID related negotiation or just "your lease is up and you're successful, so it's time jack up the rent" negotiation?  Probably the former, but I hate the latter.  I know "it's only business" but these landlords must be sitting on some major bucks, because I see sometimes buildings sitting vacant for years!  Who can afford that?!?!  Plenty of people apparently.   

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