8 New Restaurants That Opened During the Pandemic
The trophies on display are the first indication that your barbecue is in good hands. Smokecraft pitmaster and owner Andrew Darneille was working in management at Georgetown’s erstwhile Old Glory restaurant when he began entering barbecue competitions in 2016. He eventually turned his hobby into a profession, racking up more than 70 awards.
Wanting to put his years of front-of-the-house experience (and a University of Maryland MBA) to use, he signed a lease in Clarendon in May 2019. The timing could not have been worse. Construction on the new space began in December of that year, but Covid delays forced Darneille to postpone the launch until July of 2020. Because he wasn’t open before the pandemic, he didn’t qualify for any government assistance.
