The demise of Commonwealth
From various blog reports, I learned this week that Commonwealth Gastropub on Irving Street NW was closing. The news was sad, but not entirely unexpected -- I've watched over the last year as Commonwealth declined from a great neighborhood restaurant to a place I tended to avoid due to an intangible feel of decline, and repeated food quality issues.
I have seen this decline happen before in many a restaurant, but seldom has the arc been so fast. When Commonwealth first opened, around two years ago, it was initially way too crowded and it was always impossible to find a table there. But then it settled into a comfy place characterized by friendly, attentive staff, a really solid basic food menu, some great specials, and great beers on tap. The beer selection was never big, but who needs 50 beers if there are two or three really good ones.
It was great for about a year, and it became a favorite of mine. But then they started getting orders wrong more frequently. They were always gracious about fixing things that went wrong but it just kept happening. And this is entirely impossible to measure, but the bar no longer seemed quite as cozy a place to hang out. The quality of service became less consistent. I went there less and less.
This week's reports mentioned that the owner was closing the place in order to concentrate on her other restaurant, Hank's. And therein, I think, lay the clue to the problem. There is only one person who will ever treat a business as their baby, and that is the owner. If the owner is focused on other things, the business will eventually slide.
I know people who will avoid chains for reasons of snobbery, or make complex distinctions between locally owned small chains and national chains. But that's all just theoretical silliness. The real point is that a business owner who owns more than one business can't spread that love around evenly, and sooner or later the customers will feel it. When I think about my favorite places in DC, you know who the owners are, and they are there all the time. Sadly, I don't think Commonwealth got that kind of attention after its first year.
I have seen this decline happen before in many a restaurant, but seldom has the arc been so fast. When Commonwealth first opened, around two years ago, it was initially way too crowded and it was always impossible to find a table there. But then it settled into a comfy place characterized by friendly, attentive staff, a really solid basic food menu, some great specials, and great beers on tap. The beer selection was never big, but who needs 50 beers if there are two or three really good ones.
It was great for about a year, and it became a favorite of mine. But then they started getting orders wrong more frequently. They were always gracious about fixing things that went wrong but it just kept happening. And this is entirely impossible to measure, but the bar no longer seemed quite as cozy a place to hang out. The quality of service became less consistent. I went there less and less.
This week's reports mentioned that the owner was closing the place in order to concentrate on her other restaurant, Hank's. And therein, I think, lay the clue to the problem. There is only one person who will ever treat a business as their baby, and that is the owner. If the owner is focused on other things, the business will eventually slide.
I know people who will avoid chains for reasons of snobbery, or make complex distinctions between locally owned small chains and national chains. But that's all just theoretical silliness. The real point is that a business owner who owns more than one business can't spread that love around evenly, and sooner or later the customers will feel it. When I think about my favorite places in DC, you know who the owners are, and they are there all the time. Sadly, I don't think Commonwealth got that kind of attention after its first year.
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