A new entertainment program will keep dozens of D.C. restaurants open after hours for customers who want to dine all night long.
It’s called D.C. Dine All Night, a blend of restaurant week with the hours of an around-the-clock diner. It kicks off Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 1.
The District’s Department of Small and Local Business Development puts on the event. It’s looking for bars, bistros and eateries to sign on now.
“We’re hoping to have 100 restaurants on our list,” said Kristi Whitfield, the department director. “We had a big surge of people saying, ‘How do I sign up?'”
Dine All Night is a new part of the District’s 12-year-old Art All Night program. For two days in late September, the arts and entertainment event attracts visitors to all eight Wards.
“You could see people dancing,” Whitfield said. “You could have people singing and people doing live mural paintings. Whatever your idea is of artistic expression, you will be able to find it somewhere at Art All Night.”
Whitfield said the Dine All Night extension is also designed to help restaurants that are still struggling to bounce back from the pandemic to attract new customers and grapple with high rental rates.
“We are not asking restaurants to discount their food for this. We are asking them to amplify their creativity,” Whitfield said. “I want restaurants to make money. It doesn’t mean that this is going to be an expensive event. The bargain of it is getting to taste new things and experience new restaurants.”
One of the restaurants interested in Dine All Night is Provost in Northeast D.C. Owner Nina Gilchrist describes it as a laid back, American-style restaurant with soul food roots and an organic flare.
Provost opened a few months before the pandemic shutdown. Gilchrist said taking part in Dine All Night is like free marketing.
“Just getting more connected with DC local residents and tourists that are in town, that’s always our focus,” Gilchrist said. “Beyond the food, it’s really all about us coming together and we want our guests to experience our flavors and the warmth that makes up Provost.”
