French-influenced Michele’s, the hip Eaton hotel restaurant run by critically acclaimed D.C. chef Matt Baker since 2021, suddenly shut down on Thursday, January 22, after being seized by the D.C. government for alleged tax-related issues (1201 K Street NW). The lobby-level hangout was padlocked with chains and banned from conducting any sales inside, per official city signage posted on the door, and remains closed today. Its reservation portals remain active, however.
Baker is no stranger to financial woes, with his one-Michelin-starred Ivy City tasting room Gravitas getting slapped with a sales suspension notice by D.C.’s Office of Tax & Revenue a year ago. The liens were later resolved. Baker, who also runs all-day cafe Baker’s Daughter inside the Eaton, also made unsavory headlines last March, when his social media habits of reposting inflammatory rhetoric tied to immigrants and the recently fired federal workforce came to light; he later apologized, saying “I never intended to hurt this city or its people.”
Eater reached out to Baker for comment on the suspension of service at Michele’s, and D.C.’s Office of Tax & Revenue plans to send us a statement today. It remains unclear what the future holds for Lucille’s Modern Chophouse, his first-ever steakhouse that was originally slated to debut on the ground floor of Capitol Hill’s Kimpton George Hotel last spring.
With up to 10 inches of snow projected to blanket D.C. starting Saturday night, a slew of restaurants are unleashing snow day specials. One fun one is El Tamarindo’s Storm Kit set ($49), featuring six pupusas or tamales, two sides, and an agua fresca, available for takeout or delivery from its Adams Morgan address. Restaurateur Daniel Kramer’s D.C.-wide portfolio (Duke’s Grocery, Problem Child, Gogi Yogi) offers boozy hot chocolates and espresso martinis at a deep discount ($8) from Saturday to Monday. Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s portfolio (Shorty’s, the Roost, the Sovereign, Bluejacket, Rustico) also has a bunch of specials in store. And Whitlow’s warms up its Wharf and U Street customers with $10 beer-and-shot combos and a Rumpleminze-spiked Frostbite Fighter cocktail for $9…