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Possible restaurant closures are looming over eateries in the nation’s capital.
Forty-four percent of full-service casual restaurants that operate in Washington, D.C. reported shutting their doors was “very” or “somewhat likely” in 2025, a Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) survey indicated.
Local media outlet WJLA reported on the survey, conducted among 217 restaurants in the DC-area from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11, and published a RAMW document detailing its findings.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 19: The U.S. Capitol is shown at sunrise the day before President-elect Donald Trump’s 2nd term inauguration January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The risk of those restaurants shuttering comes as “rising costs and tipped wage increases outpace revenue,” the survey said.
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Smaller proportions of surveyed D.C.-area fast-casual and suburban restaurants warned of possible closures this year, at 15% and 23%, respectively, according to the RAMW.
The survey found nearly half of restaurants of all kinds in the area saw their sales drop last year. Meanwhile, 62% of respondents brought in smaller profits.
Costs have been a pain point for D.C. restaurants, with 68% contending with higher food and drink expenses, according to the RAMW survey. More than four in five eateries anticipate their costs will worsen as the year progresses.
The RAMW said in the document published by WJLA that the survey overall “shows an industry struggling simultaneously with falling sales and customer traffic, escalating food cost, major federal layoffs, and the ongoing impact of tipped wage increases.”
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Roughly 49% of DC restaurants experienced fewer customers visiting their establishments last year as some residents have chosen to eat food at home to avoid high costs, the survey found.
The possibility of tariffs, new immigration policies and other factors impacting business have also been weighing on the minds of restaurants in the city, according to RAMW.
The minimum wage required for tipped workers in DC rising $2 to an hourly $12 at the start of July as the city seeks to make that the same as its overall minimum wage over the next few years. That upcoming increase, according to the RAMW, could push the number of restaurant closures much higher.
The District of Columbia also ranked high in the list of top places to work from home. (iStock / iStock)
“Our District’s full-service restaurants – the gathering places that define neighborhoods and create the cultural fabric of our city – are facing a historic combination of pressures,” RAMW CEO Shawn Townsend was quoted as saying. “The data illustrates multiple substantial burdens converging at once, threatening not just single businesses but potentially altering DC’s distinctive dining landscape.”
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DC is home to more than 2,600 restaurants and some 66,400 restaurant and foodservice jobs, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The industry in the city generates $7.7 billion in restaurant and foodservice sales.
Nationally, the restaurant industry is expected to see $1.5 trillion in sales this year, the National Restaurant Association estimated early last month.
