And Another One Gone ...

I can't get the Queen song "Another One Bites The Dust" out of my head this week. First came news that chef Bob Kinkead's Colvin Run Tavern was closing. It ended its six-year run on Saturday. According to a recent Washington Post dining chat, the restaurant might relocate.

Snackmaniac reports that The Fractured Prune in Dupont Circle is now closed. According to the company's web site, the ongoing sidewalk construction on P Street forced the donut shop to relocate to 39-A Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

And now, Washingtonian's Best Bites blog says Yin Yankee in Bethesda has closed after just four months.

Here's hoping next week is better in the brutal world of restaurants.

Comments

Anonymous said…
But look at the plus side..now there are 2 empty restaurants on P Street in Dupont Circle (Fractured Prune and 21P) which can be replaced with something delicious that this city is lacking. My vote goes for a) an all night Jewish deli and b)a cupcake shop a la Magnolia in NYC or Sprinkles in LA!!!
9/05/2007 11:13 AM
Amanda said…
Mmm, nice ideas. Any restaurant brokers out there to take note?
9/05/2007 12:31 PM
Anthony said…
A good late night dumpling/noodle place would also do very well in dupont.

I think between Sticky Fingers and Cakelove there are some pretty good places here in town for cupcakes.
9/05/2007 12:53 PM
Anonymous said…
Fractured Prune was an interesting experience ... once. I would not want to dissolve that much sugar in one sitting very often.
9/05/2007 1:20 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree, who needs donuts! We need a good bakery in this town. What happened to bakeries?

So, what about the rumors swirling about the new W Hotel at the Hotel Washington? We've heard them before but this one looks pretty legit with Starwood saying it is imminent.
9/05/2007 3:08 PM
Anonymous said…
I always thought they would get more business by staying open into the night. I could have gone for an afternoon or late night snack at times, but they closed early (early afternoon?), so they had to rely on morning income to sustain it. Given the night activity on P Street, something open late could do well in the space.
9/05/2007 6:53 PM
IMGoph said…
fractured prune could do great in the city, they just had bad timing and i don't think they sold themselves well enough.
9/05/2007 9:16 PM
Amanda said…
From what I've been hearing, the construction really is hurting businesses on that block of P Street.

And Anthony/Jill: I second a noodle bar! I made pho the other night I had such a craving. (The Best New Recipe cookbook's recipe is great, by the way.)
9/05/2007 10:11 PM
Jon said…
"My vote goes for an all night Jewish deli..."

This person is so, so wise. This is REALLY what DC lacks...
9/06/2007 10:18 AM
Amanda said…
Jno: I've heard G'town waterfront mentioned when W comes up, but Hotel Washington would be very cool. Think of what they could do with the Sky Terrace!
9/06/2007 11:50 AM
Don't Be Silent DC said…
I'm going to miss Fractured Prune. They started out strong but went out in a fizzle. My mother and I tried to go one Saturday last month, but they were closed since 2 that day.

If business was that bad, I guess it was for the best.
9/10/2007 2:29 AM
Anonymous said…
Golden Silence, your post says it all. That place was closed at 2 pm on a Sunday! IMO the reason they failed was not the location but the hours. About 5 times I wanted to go but realized they were closed. What kind of a donut shop closes so early every day? They were only going for morning business, which is terrible in that spot. They could have done great desert/late night business. Stupid. They were open like 6 hours a day, from 8-2 or 8-4 every day. Insanely dumb.
9/10/2007 9:34 AM
Unknown said…
The Fractured Prune was a disaster from day one.

They were amazingly slow in getting donut orders filled. That's fine if you have time to wait, but in an urban setting, time is of the essence. The Krispy Kreme at the Circle and the Dunkin on 17th could fill 10 orders of a dozen donuts in the same time it would take the Prune to fill a single dozen.

And the Prune's donuts weren't all that great. Sure, there was the "top it how you like" aspect (which contributed to the slowness), but the base donut was rather blah.

Frankly, give me donuts and baked goods from Heller's any day.
9/10/2007 3:55 PM
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