After more than a decade in business, CIRCA’s days are numbered in Dupont Circle. Their last day of business is set for Dec. 31.

There are also CIRCA bistros in Clarendon and Foggy Bottom, which will remain open. Additionally, Metropolitan Hospitality Group (MHG) representatives confirm that there are still locations planned for Chinatown (January 2018) and Navy Yard (Summer 2018). 

“When we first opened CIRCA at Dupont over ten years ago [in 2007], we never could have imagined the growth opportunities that our small restaurant in Dupont Circle would afford us,” a statement from MHG reads. “The concept for CIRCA was created on the back of a napkin, we sketched out a place where we always wanted to go. We named the spot CIRCA to pay tribute to Dupont Circle—since we were around, or close to, the Circle.”

The company says that Dupont Circle staff members will be offered positions at the Chinatown location. 

After curiously thanking their landlord, the statement continues to read: “To all of our regulars and guests that joined us during your travel through Dupont, thank you for your patronage! Please come see us at Clarendon and Foggy Bottom, and in Chinatown this January and Navy Yard this summer. To our team members, thank you for your endless dedication, commitment, and trust. To the Dupont neighborhood, we have so enjoyed being your neighbor! Thank you for making Dupont home.”

Known for its menu of salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads, CIRCA also entered in D.C. lore in 2013, when Florida Rep. Trey Radel discussed buying cocaine from an undercover police officer at the restaurant. (The money and drugs were exchanged outside the restaurant. Radel later resigned from Congress.) 

Dupont Circle restaurants are in a tricky spot competing for diners’ dollars these days as the city’s attention has moved to new restaurants opening in Shaw, Bloomingdale, H Street NE, Navy Yard, and The Wharf. 

CIRCA, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW; (202)-667-1601; circabistros.com