Seasonal Pantry chef Dan O’Brien shares some mixed news—sad for fans of the daytime market in Shaw, but good for anyone looking to snag a seat at his weekly sell-out supper clubs hosted in the same space.
O’Brien says he’s closed the shop due to staffing, time, and space constraints, as the effort to produce jams and fresh pastas, smoked meats and sauces proved too much. At the same time, the nighttime tasting menus will expand to five nights of week, with seatings offered Tuesday through Saturday as of July 1.
“I love having the market, but I’m not going to sacrifice quality,” says O’Brien. “We’re staying focused on cooking, and keeping what we do alive.”
Another factor in the decision is the building’s lease, which ends early next year. O’Brien is still in the process of looking at spaces, and deciding what the next step will be; earlier plans to open an eatery in Washington, Virginia have fallen through. In the meantime a series of informal pop-ups are in the works for daytime hours, where the kitchen might whip up gumbo or smoked chicken sandwiches on Saturday afternoon and send word out over social media, similar to their impromptu fried chicken gatherings. Shoppers will also be able to find Seasonal Pantry dried pastas at shops like Glen’s Garden Market.
“I’ll teach myself to do one thing really well, enjoy it, and it have fun with it,” says O’Brien. “Nothing’s really changing. We’re just focusing more on what we’re doing, and keep being better.”
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
