Despite a pop-up event scheduled for tonight in DC, the members-only supper club Dinner Lab has effectively closed down. Members were notified via email that all operations for the business have been suspended immediately—a message that’s also displayed on the company’s website.
“Three-and-a half years ago a few of us came up with a novel idea; bring together random people, in an unconventional location, and give an up-and-coming chef a chance,” a note on Dinner Lab’s website reads. “We put every ounce of our energy into developing a product that you wanted to engage with regularly, but we weren’t able to turn the corner on creating a profitable enough enterprise to support our ambitions.”
A Dinner Lab member who reached out to Washingtonian says she signed up for Thursday’s planned Game of Thrones-themed event, and was still receiving emails as of yesterday with information about arrival time and event location. She was notified with news of the cancellation, but there’s no information yet about compensation.
Dinner Lab CEO Brian Bordainick has not yet responded to a request for comment.
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.
