Dozens of restaurants across the DC-area will be closed Thursday as immigrant workers skip work to participate in “A Day Without Immigrants” protest. Other restaurants will stay open with extremely slimmed-down staffs.
And not even the restaurant in Donald Trump‘s own DC hotel is immune. BLT Prime, the steakhouse in the hotel’s lobby, will operate with limited reservations and a limited menu on Thursday. Its sister restaurant BLT Steak will be closed.
“It will be an evolving situation based on the day’s developments,” says Rachel Wormser, Vice President of PR for BLT’s parent group, Esquared Hospitality, when asked what portion of the staff BLT anticipates will participate in the strike. Chef David Burke referred questions to Wormser.
Online reservations for BLT Prime on Thursday have been closed. Yesterday, before official plans had been decided, staff at both BLT restaurants turned away reservations while appearing to avoid mention of the protests.
“I’m sorry, but we are fully committed,” a receptionist at BLT Prime said.
“All day?”
“All day.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
