Office of Tax and Revenue Targets More Restaurants for Closures

Joe Englert's got company. Following on the news that the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue briefly closed the Argonaut today for back sales and use taxes, OTR released a list of seven other restaurants that met the same fate. Collectively, these restaurants owe more than $860,000 in sales taxes: INTI (1825 18th Street NW), Prince of Georgetown (3205 Prospect Street NW), Besta Pizza (5029 Connecticut Avenue NW), Porter's (1207 19th Street NW), Prince Café (1042 Wisconsin Avenue NW), Mendocino Grille (2917 M Street NW) and Café Nema (1334 U Street NW). None of these restaurants belong to Englert's greater restaurant collective, which suggests that OTR is engaged in a broader collection campaign. Mendocino Grille was recently sold; it's unclear whether the delinquency occurred under the new or old management. And INTI is a quite small business that may have started on a microloan. No one answered the telephone at any of these spots or at OTR.