🌸 Wonder's DMV takeover continues

Good morning, DC. It’s shaping up to be a weekend of beautiful weather. Take the family outside and soak up the fall activities in these last few days of October.

In today’s District Download:

Let’s get to it.

Arlington restaurants are doubling down on supporting federal workers through the shutdown, with Nue Elegantly Vietnamese extending happy hour deals, Paisano's Pizza offering 30% off with promo code "TOGETHER," and Palette 22 slashing 50% off food for anyone with a valid government ID. The support extends beyond discounted meals—The Toy Nest in Falls Church is opening its doors for free weekly playtime for federal workers' kids before 3 p.m., while NiHao is running buy-one-get-one-free dishes during weekday happy hours and Stellina Pizzeria is maintaining all-day happy hour pricing until the shutdown ends. According to ARLnow's tracking, these deals are part of a broader wave of Arlington businesses stepping up during federal uncertainty, with new restaurants joining the effort each week. The gesture captures how Arlington's tight-knit dining community tends to rally around federal workers—who make up a significant portion of the county's workforce—when Washington's dysfunction hits home. Most deals require a federal ID or mentioning specific social media posts at checkout, with new businesses joining the effort weekly as the shutdown continues.

The Michelin Guide has expanded its famously exacting standards to hotels, awarding nine properties across Virginia and DC its new "Key" ratings that evaluate everything from architecture to service with the same rigor previously reserved for restaurant kitchens. Six local hotels earned One Key status—including Riggs Washington DC, The Hay-Adams, Pendry at The Wharf, Eaton DC, The Dupont Circle Hotel, and Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg—while three properties scored the higher Two Key rating: The Inn at Little Washington, Rosewood Washington DC, and The Jefferson. "The Michelin Keys provide a trusted guide to discover, explore, and book truly memorable stays that inspire and delight," Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of The Michelin Guide, told reporters about the new system that evaluated over 7,000 hotels globally. The ratings follow Michelin's restaurant guide playbook—anonymous inspectors, universal criteria, and the kind of meticulous assessment that turned a tire company's dining recommendations into the industry's ultimate stamp of approval. No DC hotel cracked the Three Key tier reserved for "trips of a lifetime," though the region's strong showing suggests local hospitality is holding its own against coastal competition without needing to reinvent itself as a destination resort.

Wonder, the venture capital-fueled food hall backed by e-commerce billionaire Marc Lore, is blitzing the region with new locations in Reston (opening October 30) and beyond as part of an aggressive push toward 20-plus DMV outposts by year's end. The model packs 25-plus celebrity chef concepts—Bobby Flay steaks, José Andrés creations, Marcus Samuelsson's Streetbird—into small footprints with electric kitchens that promise mix-and-match family dinners delivered in under 30 minutes, powered by Wonder's acquisitions of GrubHub, Blue Apron, and a $600 million Google Ventures funding round that values the company north of $7 billion. Not everyone's thrilled about the expansion: Upside on Moore co-founder Nick Freshman, whose locally owned Rosslyn food hall now competes with a Wonder that opened 0.2 miles away, notes that "pushing capital behind a brand can't solve everything" and suggests Washingtonians still appreciate their homegrown spots over venture-backed newcomers.

The DC Policy Center and OSSE are hosting a public discussion on November 19 at the Charles Sumner School Museum examining how pandemic-era attendance patterns continue to shape DC schools, with coffee and networking starting at 9 AM before the program kicks off at 9:30 AM. The panel brings together Brookings' Jon Valant, CitySchools Collaborative's Cat Peretti, DC Prep Benning Middle School Principal Kia Coleman, and OSSE's Rachel Sadlon to discuss what chronic absenteeism looks like now and what's actually working to get kids back in classrooms. The conversation comes as school systems nationwide grapple with attendance rates that still haven't fully recovered to pre-2020 levels, making this particularly relevant for DC families navigating the ongoing aftermath of remote learning.

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Here’s what’s going on around DC this weekend:

River Mill Park | Murder on Prom Night | Solve '80s mystery in retro costume | 7 PM

The Anthem | Big Thief | Indie folk band live concert | 8 PM

Mount Vernon | Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon | Historic grounds, costumes, treats, mansion tours | 2 PM

Glen Echo Park | Fall Frolic | Costume contest, crafts, trick-or-treating at studios | 1 PM

Mount Vernon Avenue | Del Ray Halloween Parade | Costume parade, pet contest, scavenger hunt | 2 PM

National Harbor | Harbor Halloween | Trick-or-treating, Hocus Pocus screening, pet pawrade | 12 PM

Get your name in front of thousands of DMV area locals 3x/week.

Friday

60 🌡 41 | 🌧️ 0% | 💨 4 mph

Saturday

61 🌡 42 | 🌧️ 10% | 💨 5 mph

Sunday

60 🌡 44 | 🌧️ 10% | 💨 6 mph

9:30 Club | Night Tapes | 6 PM

Flash | Mary Droppinz | 6 PM

The Anthem | Big Thief | 7 PM

The National Theatre | Twilight in Concert | 7:30 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Jeffrey Osborne | 7:30 PM

Music Center at Strathmore | Patty Griffin | 7:30 PM

The Atlantis | Stolen Gin with Post Sex Nachos | 7:30 PM

Jammin Java | Henrik | 8 PM

The Vault at Capital One Hall | Groovalicious | 8 PM

The Fillmore - Silver Spring | Joe Murphy Bison Bash | 8 PM

9:30 Club | Belly | 6 PM

Black Cat | Everclear | 6:30 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Jeffrey Osborne | 7:30 PM

The Atlantis | Lojay | 7:30 PM

The National Theatre | Twilight in Concert | 7:30 PM

Capital One Hall | Leela James | 7:30 PM

The Fillmore - Silver Spring | Sofia Isella | 8 PM

The Anthem | Magdalena Bay | 8 PM

The Vault at Capital One Hall | Video Game Rave | 8:30 PM

Echostage | Ray Volpe with Jessica Audiffred | 10 PM

Capital One Hall | Il Divo | 3 PM

The Atlantis | Sun Room with West 22nd | 6:30 PM

The Anthem | Cage The Elephant | 7 PM

9:30 Club | Fleshwater with Chat Pile | 7 PM

Lincoln Theatre | Jeff Tweedy | 7:30 PM

Birchmere Music Hall | Phil Vassar | 7:30 PM

Warner Theatre | Steve Hackett | 8 PM

The Fillmore - Silver Spring | Clave Especial | 8 PM

The Commanders (3-4) head to Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night to face the Chiefs (4-3) at 8:15 PM in a primetime matchup that could define their season, with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels questionable after suffering a hamstring injury in last week's 44-22 loss to Dallas. If Daniels can't go, veteran Marcus Mariota gets the start against a Kansas City defense that ranks third in the NFL in passing yards allowed, making Washington 10-point underdogs on the road. The bigger concern beyond the quarterback situation is wide receiver Terry McLaurin's uncertain status, though coach Dan Quinn said both McLaurin and the team's other receiving weapons are trending toward playing. Catch the game on ESPN or ABC, with most DC sports bars showing Monday Night Football, as Washington tries to avoid falling further behind in a competitive NFC East race.

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Till next time,