Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just something I was thinking about after visiting DC then a few other cities within a short timeframe.
When you go to Philly or San Francisco, these cities have a lot of older restaurants that have been around 30, 40, 50, 60 years or longer. Many of the proprietors bought their buildings years ago when real estate prices were much lower. They can therefore charge reasonable prices for food. In DC, it seems, there weren't nearly as many of these types of restaurants as immigrants tended to opt for Northern Virginia or Montgomery County over the city. With gentrification sweeping through the city throughout the 2000s and to the present day, landlords are all seeking top dollar, and the only tenants able to afford the rents are (a) established local chains (e.g., Five Guys) or (b) trendy restaurants that charge $18 per drink. The end result is that DC is missing that intermediate range of options between expensive/trendy restaurants and chicken wings and mumbo sauce.
SF has ridiculously high real estate prices, but it's amazing how many diverse and affordable dining options the city still has. You can find plenty of Thai, Burmese or Chinese restaurants that have "in business since 1983" printed on the menus. That seems to be a rare find in DC. The Florida Avenue Grill is probably one of the more notable examples of an older, straight-to-the-point restaurant in the District, but restaurants like that are rare. If you want to eat really good food at a decent price point, it seems your best and closest option is Arlington.
I'd say your perception is accurate. I've seen some great places close down in DC due to a jack up in rent that wasn't sustainable for the business, and in many cases, these spaces still remain vacant years later. As a landlord, I'd rather have some kind of income than none at all, but I'm not in the commercial real estate business.
t every corner, you will find great restaurants and eateries. Nearby places also have something for food lovers. Try Maryland crab cakes or delicious oysters at Chesapeake Bay. If you want to join happy hour, expect some sausages, chicken wings.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,552,695 times
Reputation: 5785
DC also has at least 2x more "blank slate" to mixed use mega developments that have popped up citywide in recent history than both Philly or SF. City Center DC development was hole in the ground, and prior to that an old Convention Center. Navy Yard was an entire neighborhood of seedy bars and strip clubs with crime everywhere. Much of Philly and SF have been built out for far longer than DC.
It's true that a lot of old school restaurant/bars in DC have closed shop, a few remain, but you'd have to know the city well. Georgetown is full of places like & pizza, Five Guys etc, and only few traditional restaurants remain.
But your mention of Arlington stuck out, mainly because it reminds me of a local move going on with Whitlow's on Wilson, that closed down in Arlington last year, and is moving to the District. This is a net gain for DC's local hole in the wall type establishment, and is re-opening soon on 11th & E street NW.
I feel a lot has to do with gentrification and turnover in DC. I don't know the stats, but I'm assuming these two things are more common in DC than SF and a lot of other cities. Lots of mom and pops that were around for years in not so great areas have a different set of residents, and in turn, clientele nowadays. Also, DC is a very transient city. The population seems very young. I feel restaurants really need to keep up with what the people in the area want. Healthier options, cool wine and cocktail bars, etc.
I feel a lot has to do with gentrification and turnover in DC. I don't know the stats, but I'm assuming these two things are more common in DC than SF and a lot of other cities. Lots of mom and pops that were around for years in not so great areas have a different set of residents, and in turn, clientele nowadays. Also, DC is a very transient city. The population seems very young. I feel restaurants really need to keep up with what the people in the area want. Healthier options, cool wine and cocktail bars, etc.
What I was saying in the OP is that DC never really had a lot of those moms and pops shops to begin with. It's not like 14th Street was a bustling corridor full of ethnic restaurants in the 1990s. A lot of the storefronts in DC were vacant. The only area where you probably saw the disappearance of some ethnic places was Adams-Morgan, which used to be much more Hispanic than it is today. But that's a very small area of the city.
I think people would love to have a simple, no frills neighborhood breakfast spot that served pancakes, eggs and Folger's coffee, but it would be nearly impossible for such a business to stay open with the current market rates. The only places that can operate this way are established businesses that have been around for a long time and have either (a) purchased the building they occupy or (b) signed a long-term lease before rates took off. Any business not meeting these criteria practically has no choice but to charge $14 for sandwiches. The rents are currently way too high to have many greasy spoon, hole in the wall joints. For this reason, you can eat much better in the suburbs than you can in DC.
Other cities have experienced the same problems as DC with rising commercial rents, but they had more of those older, mom and pop's stores than DC. Think of all the restaurants and bakeries in South Philly like Ralph's, Termini's or Di Bruno Bros. Outside of Ben's, the Florida Ave Grill and Old Ebbitt, DC doesn't have many restaurants that have become institutions in that way, and there are certainly not many if any at all in areas outside of the CBD.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 09-20-2022 at 12:54 PM..
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,552,695 times
Reputation: 5785
^^^ It did have it though in the 60's and 70's, so it's a fallacy to say that DC "never" had mom and pop shops or restaurants. Now 1990's and beyond sure there's a better point to be made, but the city existed long before our memory banks go back to. I also don't think that South Philly, or anywhere else, necessarily has it "better" because there's a mom/pop breakfast restaurant vs, Milk and Honey on H Street. I see no advantage for Philly there, other than maybe pricing.
I see no advantage for Philly there, other than maybe pricing.
In my initial post, I said there's a lack of options in the intermediate range, so yes, we're talking about pricing, and pricing is an advantage. But beyond pricing, we're also talking about quality. There's a difference between a dim sum place in Wheaton that's owned by Chinese immigrants and a "dim sum" place in Georgetown that's owned by a guy who grew up in Connecticut and charges twice as much for lower quality that's not even authentic. When people talk about the food scene in DC and how it's improved, they're talking about the high end stuff like Barcelona or Pineapple and Pearls. The intermediate options are slim and most of them aren't that good.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
food lover
