A business once planned to be a 24-hour diner on 19th St. NW is no more.
Olivia’s Diner (1120 19th St. NW) has closed its doors for good, according to a sign on the front door of the business. A PoPville reader first spotted the closure.
“It is with our deepest regret, but Olivia’s Diner is now permanently closed,” the sign reads. “We will miss being a part of this neighborhood and the friends we’ve made along the way.”
Though we were unable to reach owner Thomas Marr for comment, it’s possible the restaurant fell victim to the same sagging sales that felled other nearby eateries Sophie’s Cuban, Science Club, Protein Bar, Noodles and Company, Smith and Wollensky, Melt Shop and others.
The tables at Olivia’s Diner (1120 19th Street NW) are already set for tomorrow’s 11 a.m. soft opening.
A preliminary peek inside the restaurant’s dining room reveals dark wooden tables and a long marble bar. The space also features cocktail seating at the front of the restaurant and a large seating area in the back.
But don’t be fooled by the restaurant’s upscale appearance; as we reported last month, the eatery will serve fried comfort food such as wings, chicken-fried steak and burgers.
“We didn’t want a traditional diner atmosphere, but we did want traditional American food,” part-owner Thomas Marr said.
Marr owns the restaurant with his business partner and childhood friend Tri Nguyen. Both also co-own Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza.
Olivia’s will serve customers from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
But Marr says the goal is to go 24 hours eventually, as long as there’s interest.
Olivia’s Diner, the hotly anticipated greasy spoon at 1120 19th St. NW, will open July 1 with a menu of burgers and breakfast items.
“We hope to serve the typical diner fare,” says Olivia’s co-founder Thomas Marr, who’s also part owner of Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza.
“Burgers on cast-iron plates the old-fashioned way, eggs, hashes, several different benedicts,” Marr adds. The diner will also serve liege-style Belgian waffles in waffle irons ordered from Belgium and a handful of dinner items such as steaks, hand-cut fries, meatloaf and fish and chips platters.
Marr says he also plans to include draught beers from local brewers such as DC Brau, Lost Rhino, and Port City.
But, there’s a catch: The diner won’t be open around the clock as previously reported, at least not at first.
When it opens in July, Olivia’s will serve customers from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
However, Marr says the goal is to go 24 hours eventually.
“We feel like there’s a good likelihood that we’ll be able to be 24 hours over the weekend [in the future],” he says. “Once we get into September and October we’ll have a good idea of what to expect.”
