The Shaw Bijou, which opened this fall in Shaw, has closed. (Photo via Facebook)
The Shaw Bijou experiment is officially over. Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s ambitious restaurant closed this weekend after a rocky and short-lived stint at 1544 9th St. NW. Washingtonian broke news of the closing Sunday afternoon.
A message on The Shaw Bijou’s website reads, “We thank you for your excitement and enjoyed being part of the vibrant Shaw community and serving our wonderful guests.”
The Shaw Bijou opened in November after much anticipation. Restaurants with this high a profile rarely flame out so quickly, but Onwuachi’s debut ruffled feathers before it even started serving food when it announced a $185 per person tasting menu, not including wine, tax, or tip. Dinner for two at the renovated rowhouse could easily approach $1,000. There were also plans for a posh members-only club in the restaurant bar.
Our First Look found the food to be worthy of applause, but it wasn’t long before the Shaw Bijou’s lofty aspirations hit the brick wall of reality. It rolled out an a la carte bar menu in early December to make the restaurant more accessible and ditched plans for the members-only club. And just a few weeks ago, the restaurant slashed its ticket price in half, to $95. That was dramatic news in itself.
At the time of the price change, chef Onwuachi told DCist that he “didn’t get to finish what I intended to do. But I think having an open mind and being able to bend and shift and rethink and reconceptualize is the only way to survive.”
It appears these adjustments came to late to save the concept.
“It just didn’t seem to be a viable business really. The concept was good, we just weren’t able to execute it,” co-owner Kelly Gorsuch told Washingtonian. “It just became too costly with labor and the quality of the ingredients, and unfortunately, if you can’t cut those two things down, it’s usually the end of business.”
The restaurant’s online message notes that it will contact guests with existing reservations about refunds. No word yet on what might be next for chef Onwuachi.
