Take two
Today marks the one-month anniversary of the reopening of The Jockey Club, the legendary power restaurant located in Massachusetts Avenue’s Fairfax Hotel.
The popular see-and-be-seen spot for Washington A-listers and visiting celebrities closed seven years ago after a 40-year run, but the hotel has attempted to resurrect an institution that, during its prime, was a destination for such visitors as Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio and Warren Beatty (on top of every White House and Capitol Hill pol around).
But the reaction to The Jockey Club’s resuscitation has been mixed, with some expressing excitement about The Jockey Club’s return and others doubtful that the ambience and aura could ever be re-created.
A month in, we decided to check in: How’s it faring? General Manager Klaus Peters told Yeas & Nays that the response to the new opening has been “heartwarming.”
“It’s great that so many people still find such a connection to the place after so many years,” he said.
Of course, it’s certainly not as jam-packed as it once was. On two occasions this week, the Club was roughly 30 percent full during lunchtime based on our own observations, but one employee told us, “It’s been picking up each week.”
“I’ve been seeing more and more regulars coming back, to both The Jockey Club and [The Fairfax Lounge]” (a cozy bar right off the restaurant. … Sen. Hillary Clinton stopped by a few weeks ago).
Another employee cited the busy holiday season as the reason for slow business, and the restaurant hopes that Barack Obama’s inauguration will provide a boost. But Klaus said they intended to “takes things slow.”
“We have not advertised or promoted it to the public yet,” Klaus explained, wanting to let those familiar with the past Jockey Club reconnect first.
Some Jockey Club regulars still long for the good old days, since the club’s latest incarnation has a less strict dress code and bigger windows overlooking 21st Street.
“It gives it the feeling of a tearoom,” one club old-timer said, upon seeing the latest version. “The only thing that’s the same is the name.”
But another individual judged the restaurant simply: for its food. “It’s terrific,” a lunchtime customer said.
