A number of events and happenings are being cancelled or postponed in the wake of the Omicron variant’s arrival in Washington, and reports that DC’s daily Covid-19 case rate has more than doubled over the past month. It’s all starting to feel—sadly—like last year, especially with announcements like today’s from Erik Bruner-Yang. The high-profile DC chef posted on social media that his flagship restaurant Maketto will close through the remainder of this year “out of an abundance of caution to our staff and guests.”
Out of an abundance of caution to our staff and guests, we will be offering to-go only for the rest of the year. If you have a current reservation we will be reaching out directly. We will see you in 2022 and can’t wait to see you back in person soon. Be safe. –@erikbruneryang pic.twitter.com/r8M4nzQ8jW
— Maketto (@maketto1351) December 17, 2021
Bruner-Yang has been one of Washington’s leading chef voices through the pandemic with his Power of 10 Initiative—a program, now national, that launched in March 2020 to support restaurants while providing meals for frontline workers and others in need. A special dinner to support Power of 10 at Maketto on December 22 has also been canceled. In the meantime, guests can support the restaurant by ordering takeout and delivery.
A number of restaurants and bars have temporarily closed recently after staff members tested positive for Covid—often citing breakthrough cases. A few of the recent ones: Dupont cocktail bar Bar Charley, Lucky Buns in Adams Morgan. St. Vincent Wine in Park View, and Shaw neighborhood spot Lost & Found.
When reached via text, Bruner-Yang didn’t elaborate on the reason behind the temporary closure. Sister restaurant ABC Pony in Navy Yard has yet to announce any operational pause. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
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.
