Source: Cato Institute
by Ryan Bourne
“Media reports yesterday claimed that Donald Trump’s federalization of DC policing had led to a huge plunge in restaurant reservations. Data from OpenTable shows that relative to the same calendar dates last year, reservations at DC restaurants were down by 20 percent or more from August 11th through August 17th … it turns out that August 12 through August 18th 2024 was last year’s DC summer Restaurant Week, which this year only began on August 18th. Restaurant Week is a promotional dining event where (over 350) participating restaurants offered special fixed-price menus in 2024 for the duration of the week, and sometimes beyond. A major aim is to boost reservation rates in the lean summer period, as a means of introducing diners to new restaurants.” (08/19/25)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/did-restaurant-reservations-really-plunge-because-trumps-dc-takeover