‘The city is dead’: D.C. restaurant reservations drop amid federal crackdown

[Anonymous]

Everyone got called back to the office so they now boycott crap in the city out of spite but who can blame them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Restaurant business is now up.
No more worry about carjacking.

Nobody is worried about carjacking.

Thank you, President Trump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Restaurant business is now up.
No more worry about carjacking.

Nobody is worried about carjacking.

Some families are mourni5ng the loss of loved ones due to carjackings.

Indeed. Am guessing it was before Trump started making DC safe again, yes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

This is a well known thing in the industry. I'd say it crosses racial lines though. Post church brunch is the worst shift. Jesus pamphlets, a few bucks, and sometimes those fake bills that tell you to find Jesus. Absolutely the worst.

/different former server.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

This is a well known thing in the industry. I'd say it crosses racial lines though. Post church brunch is the worst shift. Jesus pamphlets, a few bucks, and sometimes those fake bills that tell you to find Jesus. Absolutely the worst.

/different former server.

Go back to Alabama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

This is common knowledge among those of us who wait tables.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

This is a well known thing in the industry. I'd say it crosses racial lines though. Post church brunch is the worst shift. Jesus pamphlets, a few bucks, and sometimes those fake bills that tell you to find Jesus. Absolutely the worst.

/different former server.

Go back to Alabama.

Alabama? LOL. I've been in DC 25 years but am from Manhattan. Never encountered this up North but it was a thing here in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I have never been more disgusted in my life to be an American. This is all by design, the MAGA GOP is intentionally destroying small businesses, sources of fun and community in DC, all in revenge for Covid. When politicians had to make difficult choices to protect Americans, the MAGA GOP is literally killing the livelihoods of American business owners and entrepreneurs.

Who would have thought that armed, plain clothed secret police in unmarked vehicles terrorizing residents would be bad for business? Every single member of this administration and the thugs they employ need to go to prison ASAP.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2025/08/19/dc-restaurants-business-down-police-crackdown/

Since President Donald Trump announced his takeover of the D.C. police force last week, restaurant reservations have dropped in the city by as much as 31 percent year over year for a single day, according to restaurant booking data. Business owners are concerned that the continued surge in law enforcement could impact their revenue during a vital period of the summer.

Several operators say the decline does not bode well for them or the 380 establishments participating in Summer Restaurant Week, which started Monday in the greater D.C. area. The bargain-dining promotion is considered a lifeline for restaurants hoping to survive the doldrums of August, when Congress is on recess, locals are on vacation, and many area residents are gearing up for back-to-school season. One of the goals with the promotion, says Shawn Townsend, president and chief executive of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, is to help the industry make it to Labor Day, when D.C. springs back to life.

This August has been particularly tough on D.C. restaurants, numerous operators told The Washington Post. They were already dealing with a number of destabilizing issues — rising labor and ingredient costs, soaring rents, federal worker layoffs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement audits — when the president announced last week that he was sending in troops and federal agents to deal with a city where crime is “totally out of control,” despite local and federal statistics showing otherwise.

“It’s like drowning and then someone throws a 100 lb weight to you,” texted one D.C. restaurateur who asked that his name not be used because, he said, he was “just focused on keeping my businesses alive (this week).”

I agree the situation is absurd, but why do you think it was motivated by Covid?

[Anonymous]

Kind of glad. This is karma for all of the greed DC restaurants have been guilty of. They deserve it after tacking on 10% service fees, recovery fees, equity/living wage fees, then stating you still have to tip. Dining out in DC sucks so much. The entire market needs to crash and start all over again with reasonable pricing. A complete reset of how dining transactions are done. They have gotten way too greedy, and now they're getting their comeuppance.

[Anonymous]

I'd love to see this data over a few years. It's August. It's the doldrums of summer. Rich people are on vacation. Congress is in recess. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that reservations are ALWAYS down in August, having precisely nothing to do with "Trump's takeover."

Not everything is an unprecedented crisis.

[Anonymous]

We live nearby and usually go into DC to do something on the weekends and eat out. Not now.

[Anonymous]

Was at a Jose Andres restaurant yesterday for restaurant week lunch and the place was packed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be far MORE likely to head to DC for Restaurant Week than I normally would.

I am doing everything possible to avoid going into DC. So we’ll even each other out.

Democrats are cheap and terrible tippers. You won’t be missed.

As someone who used to wait tables, no. Older white people, especially the post church crowd, are by far the worst tippers. They'll give 5% and a Jesus pamphlet.

Yeah, sure.

100% the post church crowd is the worst- regardless of race. Age definitely plays a factor too. Those a$$holes who leave a fake $20 and a pamphlet should be ashamed of themselves. By far my best tippers %wise were ALWAYS single or groups of young professional black males and working-class white males. I did better than most with families with young kids, mostly because I didnt assume they were going to leave a bad tip and be annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Politics aside...going out to restaurants (especially finer dining establishments) is just too expensive for alot of us. Not enough n the budget. Even restaurant week, which is a joke to me. They advertise it as a "bargain" but nothing about it is a bargain. $50/person for a tiny app, entrée, and tiny desert? The wife and I went out last week and a 7-oz filet, tiny mash potatoes serving, and a few asparagus spears were $58. With tip is was a little over $200. Not including Uber. WTF? We can't do it. Now it might not be the restaurants fault. Maybe that's how much they need to charge to pay for rent, staff, ingredients, etc....but that doesn't mean the average person can afford it. Maybe restaurants aren't a viable business for most.

This. I won't do it! I don't like feeling like I'm being taken advantage of and ripped off on a regular basis. I have totally changed my buying habits because the problem is rampant and getting worse every day. What about the prices and inflation???