As the nation celebrates 250 years, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW) 44th RAMMYS on June 29 highlighted the power of the local food and beverage industry as a source for not only dining and entertainment, but for learning, connecting, building community, celebrating diversity, and making everyone feel welcomed.
About a mile from the 2026 RAMMYS celebrations at Arena Stage and The Anthem — both in Southwest — Martel Stone sees the importance of restaurants in action as chef de cuisine at Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi at the Salamander D.C.
“I think what’s so special about the 250 years is that it started with a gathering… and that connects directly to the core of what a restaurant is. It’s a gathering place. It’s a place for celebration. It’s a place for exchanging ideas. It’s a place for discovery,” said Stone, winner of the 2026 RAMMY for Rising Culinary Star of the Year. “When it’s time to say ‘great job,’ when it’s time to end the meeting, everybody’s looking for food…. And what better place to do those very things than to come to a restaurant like Dōgon, who celebrates all the many different cultures of D.C.?”
District Mayor Muriel Bowser also sees the D.C. restaurant industry as a way to showcase the diversity in the nation’s capital, particularly as the country commemorates 250 years…