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Gone are the days of hitting refresh on Le Diplomate’s OpenTable page, praying for a reservation (at least for now). The new hot ticket in town: the farmers market.
FreshFarm—the largest network of farmers markets in the DC-area with 16 locations—began experimenting with OpenTable reservations this past weekend for their popular Sunday gathering at Dupont Circle. On a pleasant past weekend it took up to 45 minutes to access the market with all the new capacity limits and safety measures. Deputy Director Nony Dutton says the reservation system drastically shortened and streamlined the process, with over a hundred people booking slots within the first hour of its Saturday rollout. Walk-ins are also still welcome.
Dutton says FreshFarm will continue to offer OpenTable reservations for the Dupont market and may expand the program to larger locations like Arlington Courthouse as the weather warms and demand grows. Reservations, limited to one person per party, are offered for 15 minute increments. Dutton says there are about a thousand slots available per Sunday—the market runs from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM with special times and access points for seniors and immune-compromised shoppers. Reservations are currently open for the foreseeable future, meaning you can book a July slot for those peak summer tomatoes.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to send some thankful cancellations by then,” says Dutton.
Whether you book a reservation or drop by, all are encouraged to pre-order for pickup. Currently, orders must be placed directly with vendors, but Dutton says FreshFarm is working on a more convenient market-wide ordering platform that could roll out as soon as this week.
For market reservations, book here.
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.
