WASHINGTON — D.C.’s restaurants and bars are hoping for a rebound as summer winds down. But after a week of record-low reservations and the federal police surge that swept into the city earlier this month, many owners say the industry still feels shaken.
According to OpenTable, reservations in the week of Aug. 11–17 were down nearly 30% compared to last year. On H Street, some owners, like The Pug’s Tony Temeldon, say the stepped-up federal police presence seems to have had a big effect on the last few days of summer.
"I'm vaguely reluctant to talk, because if you say the wrong thing, there's a feeling that we may get visited,” Tomeldon said. “There's a vaguely oppressive nature about it.”
By late August, reservations began to improve, thanks in part to the city’s extended Restaurant We