In 1986, Robert Giaimo sold his chain of seven American Cafes to W.R. Grace & Co. and began researching diners. The cafes were generating nearly $20 million in sales per year at the time of the sale, the Associated Press reported, but Giaimo wanted to develop a concept he could expand quickly.
Over the next three years, Giaimo and his partner, Ype Von Hengst, crisscrossed the country trying to develop what they considered the perfect diner concept. The result was Silver Diner, the regional chain of 14 restaurants that aims for a classic diner feel with menu items priced at no more than $15.
Now, Giaimo is beginning another new phase with Silver, the upscale diner concept preparing to open Thursday in Bethesda.
On Friday, Giaimo, in a gray suit and checkered shirt, sat down for an interview in his new restaurant after finishing lunch with former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
“I think to sustain success you always have to be looking at the future,” Giaimo said.
For Giaimo, that meant investing $4 million into the 4,500-square-foot restaurant on the ground floor of the new Flats apartment building near Bethesda Row.
The massive investment isn’t just to satisfy local customers; Giaimo says he plans to use the location as a prototype to develop the concept for further expansion into Washington, D.C. He says he’s already looking for another location on the city’s waterfront, along the 14th Street corridor or in Dupont Circle.
Entering the Bethesda restaurant feels like stepping back into the 1920s. The art deco design features geometric shapes and extended lines. There are pillars modeled off of New York City’s Chrysler building, a sign that reads “hand-spun shakes,” and a bar where a traditional diner would have a counter.
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“We want to capture the elegance, style and sophistication of the ’20s and ’30s,” Giaimo said, adding that the design is heavily influenced by traditional Pullman dining cars.
Giaimo likes to describe the concept as “having the heart of a diner, with the style of a brasserie.”
The menu includes traditional diner dishes—pancakes, French toast, omelets, burgers and club sandwiches—and an “American brasserie” dinner menu complete with short rib, hanger steak and scallops.
Prices range from $7 to $16 for breakfast items and the most expensive dinner entrées are $23. The restaurant seats 160, including 50 on an outdoor patio that offers a view along Woodmont Avenue.
Giaimo says everything from the sound level to the lighting has been refined as the restaurant prepared to open. When the noise generated by diners during pre-opening dinners proved to be too loud, they installed fabric-coated beams in the ceiling to absorb some of the noise. The approximately 120 employees have been training for about six weeks, including during a full week of soft openings, that Giaimo says cost $1 million in food and wages. A stylist was hired to help outfit the staff with 1920s uniforms—including blue dress shirts for busboys and formal wear for the waiters.
The effort is all part of Giaimo’s plan to open the restaurant with as few issues as possible. He says he chose Bethesda for the first Silver location because of its educated, sophisticated clientele, but he also knows the area presents a challenge.
“This market is highly competitive,” Giaimo said. “If you want to succeed, you have to be the best. We don’t want to be good, we want to be great.”
The restaurant plans to open for dinner Thursday and then begin breakfast and lunch service Sept. 29. Once fully open, the restaurant plans to operate from 7 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
