DC restaurants are lobbying “back channels” to receive a visit from President Joe Biden following his motorcade’s stop at the famous bagel shop, “Call Your Mother.”
Owner of the Lincoln Restaurant and Teddy & The Bully Bar told the Washingtonian that he’s using his lobbying connections in order to get Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris inside the restaurant’s doors.
This is the excellent Call Your Mother bagelry-deli in Georgetown, where Biden family stopped today. Pastrami excellent. One of first local outings by this President. pic.twitter.com/Hx7UVo8B1S
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 24, 2021
“Yes, we are going to work some back channels that we have, people that go way back with me—they’re longtime Democratic operatives who work in different industries now,” Popovsky told the Washingtonian.
“Word travels, and if the word travels to the right people, then we’ll have a great opportunity to get someone in there, for sure,” he added. “If we get a speech writer or someone else, it leaks out into their sphere.”
Former President Donald Trump notoriously didn’t visit any of the famous DC locales for a meal during his four years as commander-in-chief. Now, restaurant owners are hoping their connections help them out, the Washingtonian reported. (RELATED: Struggling Bar Owner In Biden Ad Revealed To Be Wealthy Angel Investor)
“Once we see who’s who and heading up key positions…then we will get more invitations than executive orders in front of the President to consider,” Martin’s Tavern owner Billy Martin told the outlet.
The restaurant has been visited by many former presidents from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush. Barack Obama never did make it to the DC local.
“Look, I knew a lot of people in the White House anyway—the press secretary and stuff like that,” Martin told the outlet. “I tried to get through. ‘Oh yeah, we’ll see what we can do. We’ll see what we can do.’ I always heard that.”
Malia Obama did visit Martin’s Tavern once during her father’s tenure.
Everyone is most curious to know which ice cream place Biden, who is known for his love of the frozen treat, will visit first. Ice Cream Jubilee owner Victoria Lai, who previously worked for the Obama administration, already tweeted at the POTUS Twitter account hoping for a stop-by.
“When I would have ice cream parties, tasting out new flavors at my apartment, they would just come on the weekends as somebody supporting a friend’s hobby,” Lai told the Washingtonian. “Now a lot of people who are back in the White House—as secretaries and assistant secretaries—are people who’ve tried my ice cream and have been eating it for years.”