Shawn Townsend, D.C.’s first “night mayor,” will take over as the president and CEO of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, the regional trade association that represents the D.C. area’s food industry.

Washingtonian first reported the news.

Townsend left his inaugural role as the director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture (a position that to Bowser’s chagrin has been dubbed “night mayor”) in 2021, after spending most of his tenure navigating the city’s pandemic reopening plans. His successor, Solana Vander Nat, left the role after just a year, and the new “night mayor,” ex-Ward 1 Council candate and former D.C. cop Salah Czapary, was just confirmed by the council earlier this week.

As CEO, Townsend will be filling the role of Kathy Hollinger, the former president of RAMW who ended her ten-year stint in October to serve as the CEO of Greater Washington Partnership, an alliance of major employers across the D.C. region.

After departing from city government in 2021, Townsend used his “expertise in building public-private partnerships” at the political consulting firm Dewey Square Group, according to his LinkedIn.

He comes to the association as D.C.’s restaurateurs, lawmakers, and workers navigate what a post-Initiative 82 future may look like. Approved in the November election, the ballot initiative will phase out the city’s tipped minimum wage by 2027. (RAMW was one of the initiative’s biggest opponents, with ties to the Vote No on 82 campaign.)

Townsend, who before his stint in the mayor’s office worked as an investigator in D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, told Washingtonian that plans for the implementation of Initiative 82 “are definitely conversations I’m looking forward to having with our friends in the Wilson Building.” Owners have already started to float certain legislation by D.C. councilmembers to ease the transition away from the tipped minimum wage, including a proposal to exclude the service charge from sales tax.

“Our industry is at a pivotal moment and we are thrilled to welcome Shawn in this role to lead both the industry and organization into the next chapter,” RAMW Board of Director Chair Galvin Coleman said in a press release. “Shawn brings a bounty of energy, experience, and knowledge and is already in the unique position to have earned the trust of many operators across the city and region. Now as we continue the recovery path of rebuilding business, workforce, and economic sustainability for operators of all sizes, especially in the wake of Initiative 82, we are confident that Shawn is the right leader for the job.”

Once described by friends as a “cheerleader of D.C.’s cultural scene,” Townsend will assume the role starting in mid-January. He’s also the husband of MSNBC host and former political strategist Symone Sanders, whose July 2022 surprise D.C. wedding was the subject of much media fanfare.