Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant Reverie in Georgetown was devastated by a fire in the kitchen area early Friday morning.
“The fire and smoke damage is extensive and we will have to completely rebuild. We’ve been saying from day 1 we aren’t going anywhere and this won’t stop us, it will only make us better,” chef/owner Johnny Spero posted on Instagram. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One of Spero’s friends and former colleagues, former ThinkFoodGroup creative director Ruben Garcia, started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of Reverie and its team. The fundraiser circulated widely across DC’s hospitality scene over the weekend, and has raised more than $40,000 so far.
DC Fire and EMS Department spokesperson Vito Maggiolo says they received a call about the fire at 3:29 AM on August 12. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find smoke throughout the four-story building in which the restaurant was located and extinguished a fire in the kitchen area before it could spread. He says the exact cause of the fire is currently undetermined and remains under investigation.
The fire happened just as Spero prepares to open a new seafood-centric restaurant, Bar Spero, in Capitol Crossing. Spero is also a partner in Nighthawk Pizza in Arlington.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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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.
