Trinidad's 1940s-era Capital City Diner, which rolled into Northeast D.C. from upstate New York in 2009, is closing this weekend, citing "rising costs, a declining economy, and a national chain 'diner' restaurant opening almost a stone's throw away." That chain: Denny's. Operators announced the shuttering on the diner's Facebook page on Friday. Prince of Petworth and [...]

You know what? I don’t give a damn that Capital City Diner buys the majority of its ingredients from a giant food-service company, and I’ll tell you why. Sometimes I love a place just because of its history or its significance to a neighborhood or its atmosphere. (I’m sorry, but I don’t visit Florida Avenue [...]

Metro Connection host David Furst and I had just finished our segment on Capital City Diner in Trinidad — had in fact just listened to co-owner Matt Ashburn talk about his neighborhood's overblown reputation as a crime district — when across the street.... Well, I should let you listen to the episode today to find out.

On opening day, Capital City Diner received a visitor from the 1950s.  Not long afterward, the co-owners heard an echo from their diner's very beginnings, from the late 1940s. It was a bouquet of flowers and a note from the son of one of the founders of the Goodrich Diner, a tiny eatery that served [...]

The neon "OPEN" sign said it all: After months of headaches and delays and budget crunches (much of which Y&H will detail in tomorrow's column), Capital City Diner finally opened for business yesterday in Trinidad. It was packed with neighbors, well-wishers, reporters, and even a surprise out-of-town guest. After the jump is my brief snapshot [...]

It's been a capital week here at Young & Hungry Central. Or more like a "Capital City" week. Three of your five favorite posts focused on the latest news about Capital City Diner and Capital City Cheesecake, a pair of capital operations not at all related. Take a look: Capital City Diner Ready to Open [...]

The Avoca Family Diner, circa 1993 Y&H received an e-mail earlier this week from Randy Garbin, publisher of Roadside magazine and its electronic version Roadside Online. Garbin's magazine is a love letter to diners and their role in American grease-tronomy. Garbin sent me a PDF version of a piece he wrote in 1993 about the Avoca Family Diner, which was [...]

After all the bureaucratic hassles, Capital City Diner breezed through its final health inspection today, obtained its business license, and plans to open for business on Tuesday. So how does it feel to finally start slinging hash, Matt Ashburn? "Scary as hell," he says. "Actually, I think it's a relief, and I couldn't be happier." [...]

A view of Cap City Diner from across the street If the tone of Matt Ashburn's e-mails indicates anything, the Capital City Diner owner sounds a lot calmer than he was back in August when he and business partner, Patrick Carl, were battling with Washington Gas over the installation of a new line. Ashburn has [...]

When Y&H last chatted with Capital City Diner co-owner Matt Ashburn, he was trying to convince Washington Gas to waive the $5,600 "contribution" fee that the utility was requesting to lay a new pipe from the gas main to the forthcoming restaurant at 1050 Bladensburg Rd NE in Trinidad. Ashburn's argument for waiving the fee [...]