Shutdown specials boom — but D.C. braces for the bust
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"Furlough-ritas" are flying at Butterworth's. Carmine's is pouring "Here We Go Again" cosmos. All-day happy hours are everywhere. Welcome to week two of D.C.'s government shutdown.
Why it matters: Shutdown specials are a D.C. tradition — the city's silver lining when paychecks stop. But this time, owners and furloughed feds say the mood feels grimmer.
State of play: The shutdown is setting in — Smithsonian museums are prepared to close Sunday. Citywide events like the Marine Corps Marathon are in jeopardy. And more pressing, paychecks may not come through.
- It still feels like a snow day with boozy lunches and early happy hours — a stark contrast to the federal crackdown that D.C. restaurateurs say recently emptied their dining rooms.
- But businesses are bracing for the slowdown when wallets snap shut.
Zoom in: Carmine's in Penn Quarter didn't wait — CEO Jeff Bank promoted all-day happy hour before the shutdown began. It's paying off.
- "We have 25 people at the bar at 11:30am, which is not normal," Bank tells Axios.
- He says it's not just feds — "trade associations, law firms, all these people who won't get back pay."
By the numbers: Carmine's flies through 575 of its $8 cosmo specials a day, up from their usual 85.
- Its frozen Bellini cocktail (the "Essential Worker" special) jumped from 40 to 250 orders daily.
Bank says customers are treating the restaurant "like a living room-office" — lingering in groups, networking and "all trying to find out the same thing — is this a short-term problem or not."
Yes, but: Bank says the surge won't last.
- For a huge Italian restaurant with nine event rooms — none hosting the usual political fundraisers — overall business is down.
- "We're not making any money," he tells Axios. "We just want to keep our staff employed."
The intrigue: In a city once known for cheeky "Trumptinis" and "Kamalacoladas," few specials are political. Veteran bar owner Matt Weiss — behind Union Pub, Barrel and more — says that's intentional.
- "In the past we've done 'When the government shuts down, we turn up,' but that's not the pulse of the city right now," Weiss tells Axios.
- After cuts and crises, Weiss warns, "The mood could feel harder and harsher the longer this goes on."
Behind the scenes: Haute MAGA hangout Butterworth's on Capitol Hill has never done deals — not even happy hour — until now.
- Chef-partner Bart Hutchins says he's already burned through his tequila stock on Furlough-ritas. "We don't usually sell much tequila," he says.
Hutchins learned from 2018's shutdown slump: "You can lose your audience real quick."
- Hence, the deals on Welsh rarebit and mini-Guinnesses to lure in any hesitant regulars.
So far, business is booming — even a record Saturday — but they're preparing for anything, including stocking bottles for to-go cocktails in case patrons hunker down.
- "I've heard everything from 'It'll end this week' to 'This'll last till Christmas,'" says Hutchins.