Photo courtesy of Stomping Ground
Stomping Ground in Del Ray
Stomping Ground opened its doors for business in the spring of 2015. On Wednesday, the eatery's owner said in a lengthy online letter to customers that the venue will close in April and reopen to "make way for something entirely new."
Our team has decided that in April 2023, we will shutter our beloved biscuit house to make way for something entirely new. We will share more details as they become available - we are so very excited about the project. It makes financial sense, it makes my team renewed at the idea of something REALLY new.
Located at 2309 Mount Vernon Ave., the restaurant is known for its buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken, hash browns, house pickles, monkey bread, banana bread and much more.
In a long letter to customers, Stomping Ground owner Nicole Jones cited constant changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher prices and increasingly finicky customers as the reason why she has decided to close and reopen with a new concept:
"Our community has been replaced with the post Covid guest. A guest that has grown accustomed to having Michelin starred food delivered to them at exactly the time of their choosing by a driver who braved the worst possible conditions. They call to ask for refunds if delivered food is even just the slightest bit subpar to the in house dining experience. They leave one star online reviews if they can’t get a favorite menu item. They bemoan about the prices; not knowing our core values to source the best product we can afford and to pay our staff the most we can. They let the food get cold as the 'camera eats first'. They send DMs asking you to repost their content. They ask for gluten free."
"All of this compounded as I realized I have 2 years left on my lease. Is it time to tap out and close Stomping Ground after 10 years? I simply don’t have the wherewithal to eke out yet another round of changes and the market can only sustain so many price increases. I no longer have the anxiety and adrenaline it took to pivot my business over and over for 2 years. I have pivoted her into something I no longer recognize."
"While I’m not ready to totally give up, I am ready for a change. Our team has decided that in April 2023, we will shutter our beloved biscuit house to make way for something entirely new. We will share more details as they become available - we are so very excited about the project. It makes financial sense, it makes my team renewed at the idea of something REALLY new. We know that the next chapter will hopefully delight our customers again. In the meantime, please join me in saying goodbye to my beloved first restaurant. She has been so good to all of us."
Read the entire note here.
