With winter temperatures lingering well below freezing and threatening to reach zero degrees at night, Montgomery County restaurants are feeling the effects of the Arctic weather as locals opt not to brave the elements.
“Unfortunately the cold snap is hurting us, people who usually come out to a restaurant on a whim, now they think twice,” said Phil Solomon, manager at the Bethesda bistro, Persimmon.
Grapeseed owner Jeff Heineman said he had 39 reservations canceled at his Woodmont Triangle restaurant Tuesday night after four inches of snow fell downtown. He said he was disappointed so many people in Bethesda are staying in because of the weather, which the native New Yorker described as an annoyance.
“Urban communities get out and do things when it snows, they don’t hide,” Heineman said. But he added that he’s used to business slowing down this month. “February is a pretty much a garbage month that surrounds one really good day in the middle,” he said.
Others seem to agree.
“The weather has hurt us in times that we’ve had to close because of inclement weather,” explained Mark Parker, manager of Food Wine & Co. in Bethesda. The restaurant closed early for Monday’s dinner service due to the snow and didn’t open Tuesday for lunch.
Restaurants such as American Tap Room, with locations in Bethesda and Rockville, are introducing winter specials in order to entice patrons, according to assistant manager and Bethesda native Joe Anthony. The restaurant’s new “Comfort Food Menu” features hearty dishes including chicken potpie, beef stew, and shrimp and grits.
Fortunately for these local establishments, once customers enter, they are much more likely stay to avoid the weather, Anthony said.
“The people who are tending to come in are ordering more, wanting to order dessert or that extra wine or beer and linger a little longer,” he said. He also said an uptick in carryout orders was helping to balance losses possibly caused by the frigid weather.
Summer House Santa Monica, a newly opened North Bethesda restaurant, is also benefiting from the falling temperatures because of its beachy décor.
“People have sought us out because they want that escapism that we offer them,” manager Adam Murphy said.
Options such as baked-to-order biscuits with roasted-poblano honey butter and the quinoa and forbidden black rice bowl have quickly become cold-weather favorites at the Golden State-inspired eatery, Murphy said.
But some county residents are still relying on local favorites to provide warm dishes in the worst of conditions.
“People know us [and] we were getting calls asking if we were staying open” said Jay Evans of Mussel Bar & Grille in Bethesda, who added that the restaurant has stayed open despite the snow and frigid temperatures. “Our mussels are perfect for the cold weather, they work very well for this time of year.”
Temperatures are predicted to rise above freezing this weekend—a reprieve for restaurants and customers alike.
