Local Restaurateur ‘Taking Over’ Longtime DC Diner
By Christina sturdivant-Sani July 11, 2018 12:10 pm
reprints
A local restaurateur has swooped in to take over a Chevy Chase diner, following the announcement of its closing after serving the neighborhood for more than 30 years at 5532 Connecticut Avenue NW.
A spokeswoman for Steve Salis told Commercial Observer that he has “taken over” American City Diner, but she did not disclose any further details. Salis will lease the building from the landlord, Albert Hinton, according to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported news of the deal.
A co-founder of &pizza, Salis owns multiple local restaurants including Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe and Ted’s Bulletin, which he acquired in November 2016 and November 2017, respectively.
The news broke about American City Diner on July 8. A Facebook post on the restaurant’s page read: “Thank you so much to all of our longtime customers and the amazing community of Chevy Chase, D.C. for your support over the past 30-plus years. It’s been a privilege serving you but the time has come for the American City Diner to close its doors.”
NBC4 reported that an electrical outage caused the restaurant to close and the family decided to shutter it permanently after struggling financially since owner Jeffrey Gildenhorn died in 2017. The 74-year-old opened the restaurant in 1988.
