Slim’s Diner will close its doors for good on Sunday, the latest restaurant on the vaunted Upshur Street to shutter.

“Several factors contributed to our decision, beyond the basic fact that expenses were higher than revenue and we are losing money,” owner Paul Ruppert tells DCist over email.

The 45-seat diner opened in Petworth in the summer of 2016, joining Ruppert’s other businesses on Upshur Street like Petworth Reading Room and Upshur Street Books (he also owns the building that houses Himitsu). Petworth News was the first to report the closure.

Ruppert tells DCist that Slim’s faced “challenges from the beginning. In hindsight we should have opened more slowly (breakfast first, then add lunch, then add dinner) in order to get our sea legs. The first few months had ups and downs and it was difficult for us to recover. In recent months we made progress in service and quality of food, but we never gained the momentum back to increase our customer counts to a level that could sustain us.”

Slim’s marks the third closure on Upshur Street since November. Many business owners on the street have acknowledged that 2018 was a rough year for them, some pinning the blame on the record-breaking rainfall the city saw, as well as the lack of residential and office density that exists in other neighborhood hotspots. It’s not just Upshur Street, either: Facing higher rent and increased labor and food costs, more than 80 restaurants citywide closed in 2018.

Still, Ruppert says he has no plans to give up on the neighborhood, and people have already expressed interest in the space.

“I remain bullish on Upshur Street and believe we will find a concept that will work in this spot—especially considering the experience we have gained over the last two-and-a-half years,” he says. “The next step is to talk to the many operators who have approached us over the past 24 hours to determine how to move forward.”

After the closure of Crane & Turtle on the street, for instance, which Ruppert co-owned, he rented the space to Kevin Tien and Carlie Steiner, who opened the acclaimed Himitsu.

The diner is permanently closing on Sunday, but it’s still serving as a neighborhood gathering space for a few more days. Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd was just spotted at Slim’s today.

https://twitter.com/CMBrandonTodd/status/1083385212330012673

Previously:

With Recent Closures, Is Upshur Street In Trouble?