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Rose’s Luxury, the Capitol Hill restaurant that was once a notorious for its lines, will now offer reservations “indefinitely,” according to owner Aaron Silverman. He says plans were already in the works—the restaurant offered limited same-day reservations online—but that Covid-19 and growing concerns of public gatherings hastened the decision.
“I opened this restaurant with the mission to provide the most enjoyable experience, and we’re not making it the most enjoyable place to dine by making it hard to get into,” says Silverman. “Now it seems like an opportune time to do it anyway.”
In addition to reservations, Silverman says he plans to launch Rose’s Luxury dinner delivery shortly, either through a third party service or directly from the restaurant. (Sister cafe Little Pearl already delivers via Caviar.) And if you want two Michelin-star Pineapple & Pearls in your apartment, there’s always Rose’s at Home, Silverman’s newly launched “private pop-up” option. It starts at $150 per person for a multi-course Rose’s Luxury menu and goes up to $500 a person to have Silverman cook a Pineapple & Pearls experience. But he adds that due to the current climate, Rose’s at Home is also offering less expensive mid-week options and menus for smaller parties of four versus an eight-guest minimum.
In the restaurants, Silverman and his team have added more space between tables and are implementing no-touch payment options in addition to extra sanitization. The company also provides paid sick leave for employees.
“We’ve definitely seen some decline,” says Silverman of dining traffic. “It’s not drastic yet, but even a small decline can put you out of business easily.”
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.
