LOCAL FLAVOR, step up to the plate ...and eat!

Good Food Fuels Good Art and helps create the character of our neighborhood.

"PLEASE JOIN US TO HELP SAVE P STREET RESTAURANT ROW" by Mark Bjorge

The ongoing street and sidewalk construction on P Street will certainly improve the look and feel of our neighborhood, but it is hurting many of our most cherished local businesses.

The July 25th edition of The Dupont Current reports that some restaurants have suffered a 60% decline in Saturday night business due to street construction, and they may not survive unless things turn around- soon. It seems the out-of-towners and those who used to drive to P Street are coming less frequently. Of course we locals continue to dine on P Street but, if we want our favorite restaurants to be there next year, we will need to make a conscious effort to choose to more often dine on P Street when we dine out.

Dupont’s P Street Restaurant Row is a local and regional treasure. Long time favorites like Pesce, Tiramisu, Obelisk, and Pizza Paradiso regularly win Washingtonian and Washington Post awards. The more recently opened dining spot, Mark and Orlando's, received a rating of “Excellent” from the Zagat Guide, and was a Washingtonian 100 Best Bargain Restaurant. Even more recent newcomers Monsouris and Marraskesh Palace have opened to rave reviews. There's sushi at Sakana, Cafe Japone, and Sushi Uno, and moderately priced pizza, Middle Eastern cuisine, Indian food, andburgers. Outdoor cafes. And there are amazing fresh and custom made donuts at The Fractured Prune. P Street has all this and more in just two blocks.

More than a dozen of us - without any ties to these businesses - met last week to put together a plan of action to help the P Street shops and restaurants weather the final six months of the streetscape project. This e-mail is the first part of that plan. Feel free to forward it to others.

Please remind our friends and neighbors that P Street is open for business, and that it’s up to locals and long time fans to
fill the empty tables. We can't wait for the Streetscape to be completed, because some of Dupont’s favorite and best dining
destinations may be gone by then.

We're reaching out to civic organizations and businesses, urging them to support P Street Restaurant Row. We're going to partner with the P Street businesses to stage promotions. You'll see us around. We're doing this because we think our small, independent establishments are a large part of what makes Dupont Circle special.

So, please, patronize these wonderful independent restaurants and stores now. Going out for lunch or dinner is a great thing, especially when you're helping keep Dupont the great dining destination it is. And since our local P Street restaurants are all small businesses, our extra help this summer and fall will make a real difference.

Together, we can do it. All you have to do is step up to the plate ...and eat!"