Chef Andrew Markert has closed his Capitol Hill fine dining restaurant, Newland. The tasting room, which opened in March with whimsical touches like caviar served in lunchboxes and prix-fixe menus starting at $80, lasted just over four months.
Markert says his neighboring casual ventures, gastropub Beuchert’s Saloon and new sandwich/cocktail spot Fight Club, are doing well—catering to the Hill’s many families and happy hour crowds.
“I think [Newland] ended up being the right concept, wrong time,” says Markert. He says new Covid variants caused costly cancellations each week—matched with rising food costs and labor shortages, it was a tough combination. The restaurant changed course and began offering a la carte service in addition to tasting menus shortly after opening, but Markert says that sales continued to decrease.
Diners may find a chef’s tasting or similar Newland-esque offering at Beuchert’s down the line, but for now, Markert says the team is recuperating and leaning into their casual businesses.
“I poured a lot of time and money into [Newland], and it just didn’t click like we wanted it to,” he says. “It’s really sad. There were a lot of tears shed on our last service.”
Read a full statement from the restaurant here:
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