D.C.'s new restaurant listings are growing
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The number of new restaurant listings in the D.C. metro area rose 6% last year from 2019, according to new Yelp data shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The end of 2023 brought a rash of restaurant closings — as well as doom and gloom prophecies about the state of D.C.'s dining scene due to crime and the impact of Initiative 82 — but the overall picture trends towards the positive.
By the numbers: 1,157 restaurants were newly listed on Yelp in 2023 in the D.C. metro area, compared to 1,091 in 2019.
- New businesses overall in the D.C. area rose 31% from 2019.
The big picture: Nationally, the restaurant industry is showing signs of life after a brutal stretch brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Nearly 53,800 restaurants opened their doors across the country last year, up 10% from 2022, based on new Yelp listings.
- Another way of looking at that figure: It's up 2% from 2019, meaning there's been a slight increase in openings compared to pre-pandemic times.
Zoom in: D.C. topped Yelp's nationwide list with 42 new restaurants for every 100,000 residents. By comparison, New York state had about 22.
- The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington tracked a total of 100 openings in the DMV last year.
- There were 55 closures, down from 2019 when there were 69.
Yes, but: In a poll conducted last fall by the restaurant association, 75% of nearly 300 establishments reported being less profitable than pre-pandemic, down by an average of 34%. Most of the restaurants surveyed were independently owned and full-service.
- Nearly all raised prices, but many say inflation and labor costs are outpacing them.
- Meanwhile, in a National Restaurant Association survey of over 940 D.C.-area residents, more than half reported dining out less often due to increased prices.
What they're saying: "Restaurants are still hurting," Shawn Townsend, head of D.C.'s restaurant association, tells Axios. "Foot traffic has not come back downtown. Workforce is an issue. Supply chain is an issue. Inflation is an issue. Plus Initiative 82 and the elimination of the tip credit."
Between the lines: Some of the fastest-growing national restaurant categories include dessert shops (up 66% in 2023 compared to 2022), creperies (+63%), and hot pot joints (+53%).
- Another intriguing data point: African restaurants are up 65% when compared with 2019 levels.
- In D.C., a bunch of African and Afro-fusion restaurants opened last year, including Ghanaian spot Hedzole on 16th Street, Ivorian Spicy Water African Grill near U Street, Petworth's Alemda, and Bronze on H Street, NE.
Reality check: It's one thing to open a restaurant. It's another to keep it open through the first week, the first month, the first year.
- Many existing owners are struggling with high food, rent, and labor costs; rookies will face those same headwinds.
- In D.C., we're seeing a trend of new restaurants deciding to cut their losses— and salvage revenue — by closing within the first year of business. Take Jiwa Singapura, a high-profile spot that shuttered at Tysons Corner, or rooftop Mexican restaurant Baja Tap in Adams Morgan.
The bottom line: Obviously, pandemic-era restaurant closures were gut-wrenching for owners, patrons, and communities.
- But if this new nationwide Yelp data is any indication, maybe COVID-19's impact on the restaurant business was something like a wildfire, clearing out space for new growth in a changed environment.