News of local restaurant closings continue to come frequently, and the latest to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic is the Carving Room Kitchen & Bar in D.C.’s Mount Vernon area, although it said its Oct. 25 closing is temporary. It blames capacity restrictions, and said as of late, its weekly sales are what its daily sales used to be. The news of its closure was first reported by popular local news site Prince of Petworth, and was confirmed by an employee. Before the pandemic, the Carving Room, which owners Rachel Steiman and chef Oded Weizmann opened in 2013 at 300 Massachusetts Ave. NW, frequently had lunchtime lines waiting for its house-cured pastrami and corned beef, and homemade soups. It’s also a popular neighborhood happy-hour spot. In 2016, it was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” in season 24’s “All Kinds of Meat.”

“Without additional federal or local relief, it is impossible to open our doors with only carryout and 25% of our indoor capacity available to us. It costs more to open our doors than we currently sell,” the Carving Room posted in a notice to patrons at its Massachusetts Avenue location. “We are done for now, but not for good. We will continue to look for ways to reopen our doors and hope to see you again.” A second location from the Carving Room’s owners, CR NoMa, opened in 2019 at 140 M St. NE, which is not temporarily closing.