Carol Joynt, right, interviews D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier at a Q&A Cafe at Nathan’s. The Georgetown restaurant will close for good on July 12.
It was just a month ago that Carol Joynt, the owner of Georgetown institution Nathan’s, sent out word that after months (years, really) of speculation, the restaurant had managed to secure a lease extension, and would, it seemed, therefore stay open. But in an email to patrons late today, Joynt announced that Nathan’s will suddenly be closing its doors for good on July 12. Joynt writes:
Dear Friends,
After 40 years of serving millions of happy and loyal customers, and opening its doors 365 days of every year, Nathans will close at last call on Sunday, July 12. This ends an era of delicious, interesting and often outrageous moments at what Zagat called “the quintessential Georgetown saloon.”
We hope over the next week you will find the time to come in and enjoy a last drink and meal with us. We wish we could give it away, but economic reality is that we need your dollars. Also, if I may, I urge you to please be generous with the staff.
With a heavy heart and much gratitude,
Carol Joynt
So what happened? You can actually read all about it, from Joynt’s perspective, on her web site, where she maintains a sort-of blog she calls Swimming in Quicksand.
For those unfamiliar with Joynt’s story, she’s actually a print and broadcast journalism veteran who inherited the restaurant from her late husband, J. Howard Joynt III, when he died suddenly in 1997. The story of why Nathan’s is closing begins then, Joynt writes: “I inherited Nathans along with a mountain of debt, an IRS fraud case and a really tough lease. But then I didn’t know much about anything at the beginning, except I wished to sell the place as fast as possible and escape with my life.”
Getting out quickly wasn’t to be, it turned out, but under Joynt’s control, the restaurant found some new relevance by hosting the weekly Q&A Cafe, a lunch-included salon that offered Washingtonians a chance to sit in an intimate space with a well known newsmaker or politico while Joynt interviewed them.
On her blog, Joynt tells a story of not making enough money to afford the rent since back in 2001, going through a long battle with the building owners, eventually renegotiating, but then still coming up short.
“Basically, I looked at the future and did not see a way for us to make it without defaulting on the lease extension,” Joynt said in an email.
