A reader sent in this photo
Zuppa Fresca (250 K Street) posted a note in their window yesterday announcing an immediate closure due to a disagreement with their landlord and management company. Zuppa Fresca was located inside the Loree Grand. You can read the paper version of the full note online thanks to Tony Goodman. I have copied the text from Zuppa Fresca's website and Facebook account here:
Zuppa Fresca is closed. We have decided to close due to situations out of our control. We hope a tenant is found for the space who can comply with the outrageous demands of the Ladnlord and Management Company. We will be posting our entire story soon to let our customers know why we had to leave. We only hope that our story will help other young business owners who are trying to find truthful andhonest landlords and management companies. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. alfiocelia[at]acculinary.com
This is all the info I have at this time.
15 comments:
i guess it also didn't help that no one dined there
I can't say I'm surprised. I'm not happy to see any place close, but the food here was not very good, the prices were very high, and the interior was just depressing. Hopefully someone else can make it work.
Zuppa Fresca seems better suited for Union Market. Hope their move up the street works out better for them. They'll be a good addition to that space.
haha yeah union market.. right. i'm sure the james beardos will be begging to have zuppa fresca there
hahahahhahahahha
Zuppa Fresca was an odd place--very stale atmosphere and food that was less than compelling.
I'll be interested though to know what constraints the landlord put in place, because it seemed like there were some fairly obvious and simple things they could have done to get more people in the door.
What ever happened to Kitchen on K?
What ever happened to Kitchen on K?
The same thing that happened with Zuppa Fresca, only it happened before Kitchen on K opened. Basically there was some disagreement with Loree Grand management and the restaurant never materialized (it also came out that Clark was way behind on rent payments for her Silver Spring restaurant which closed about the same time).
The messages from both Clark and Zuppa Fresca management when things broke down with LG don't make them seem sympathetic, but the fact that this has essentially happened twice also doesn't make LG management look good either.
I am sorry to see them go. I was hoping that over time, they would have improved their pricing which I thought was pretty high for what you got. Plus, the scale of the place was really just too big and a bit cold. Next time round, they should aim for a smaller place. And work on their pricing and menu a bit more.
I wanted to like this place but the last time we visited we waited over an hour for soggy uncooked fries, a stone cold fried veal sandwich, and a overly buttery shrimp dish that made my friend's daughter sick.
And we were one of only two parties in the restaurant at the time. The server , however, was very nice and tried to be helpful -- so sad to see that our server will be out of work. Just not a good business, unfortunately.
I also really wanted to like this place...but it had a feeling of a server "training" restaurant where everyone just moved a bit too slow, was a bit too unsure, and the food was very mediocre. And for that they were charging an outrageous amount for what you were getting.
"that made my friends daughter sick"......I bet your friend only feeds her daughter things like soy milk. And what were you doing bringing a child to that neighborhood? Too dangerous on that side of H for childrens.
Eh, business is business.
They were probably only allowed to sign a short lease. When the property management company saw their revenue numbers (yes, this gets provided to them), they realized the place isn't going to make it. No property management company wants a tenant that cannot make their bills.
I was a frequent visitor to this restaurant, and this is really a shame for the entire neighborhood. It's true the restaurant had a very shaky start. It had a lot of issues in the beginning with quality consistency. All the dishes prepared by the chef himself were fantastic, but it took a long time for the sous chefs to get to the same level. Things were definitely improving though, with beer and wine tastings, more and more people were going to the restaurant, despite the fact that the Loree Grand did nothing to help promote the events. I hope they can find a new location with a more reasonable management.
None of their numbers were asked for by the property management and they signed a ten year lease. (know someone very close to the management). The landlord messed this one up.
While I only went once, the food was good for what it is priced, atlhough a price reduction would have prompted more trips. I guess we got the actual chief.
Any word on a planned reopening someplace else or are they over and done?
Post a Comment