When his general manager told him someone with a Secret Service detail was dining at Floriana, James Branda eagerly went to greet the group sitting at Table 30 to find out who it was.
There were four people seated, and one told Branda the group was celebrating his daughter, who had just graduated from law school. Branda told them he used to be a lawyer, and, “I hope you get out the same way I get out.” He later learned a Supreme Court justice was at the table.
The encounter is one of many that Branda, owner of Floriana Restaurants, has been reflecting on since announcing plans to close the Northwest D.C. location after five decades. After New Year’s Eve, the restaurant will work toward its Old Town Alexandria opening in early to mid-January.
In a wide-ranging interview with WTOP, Branda described the circumstances that led to the decision to close and shared a vision for how the restaurant is evolving in Northern Virginia.
“There isn’t one factor,” Branda said. “It’s a series of factors, and a series of looming factors. It was a lot of stuff, and it all came together. I know I’m making the right move for the business and for the staff, and I’m confident this is what is best for us going forward. But it doesn’t make it any easier. It hurts.”
The restaurant opened in December 1978. More recently, it became known for its homemade pastas and annual holiday decorations, and even before deciding to close, Branda said he had considered Alexandria or Montgomery County as expansion possibilities. But then, after reviewing the cost of delivering the quality of food and service that customers expect, Branda said he realized “it’s probably not economically viable in D.C. anymore.”
The restaurant’s lease was ending, and Branda said his rent is nearly double what it was about 10 years ago, when he bought the restaurant. Restaurants are paying nearly four times as much for beef as they were in 2019, he said.
A series of local and federal factors also played a role, Branda said. The restaurant is about 3,000 square feet and has about two dozen workers, and its payroll tax is about 15% of net sales.
Separately, Initiative 82, which phases out D.C.’s tipped minimum wage, “certainly had an effect, as we’ve seen the numbers play out. The council has studied this, and I believe that was what was instrumental in their pause of it.”
Initiative 87, which aims to boost the city minimum wage to $25 per hour, is also looming, he said.
Branda described the last two or three years as “the hardest times of my life at all in any professional setting.” Average reviews are up, he said, but when he started, lasagna cost about $17 or $18 on the menu, and is now cost nearly double that.
“The one thing I won’t do is make it with cheaper products,” Branda said. “We are not going to be a place that doesn’t get the best beef, that doesn’t make the pasta ourselves, that doesn’t make the bechamel ourselves. We’re always going to do things the right way, and I would rather not operate here than become a bad restaurant.”
Since the restaurant announced the change on its Instagram page, some have expressed disappointment, while others shared an eagerness to dine at the new location. But for some, the Dupont site was their favorite restaurant in the city, the site of many first dates, Branda said. The first time he said “I love you” to his wife came when he was housesitting for a regular customer.
“I like to think that we are part of the neighborhood, and that we make people feel comfortable and happy, and that when someone comes to Floriana, it’s not just because it’s good lasagna or just because it’s a good wine list, but because they can’t wait to see the staff,” Branda said.
The staff will be largely the same in Alexandria, and Branda said he will be hiring more employees, too. The menu is expected to be largely the same, though the new space has a raw bar and pizza oven, and space to make bread in house.
That will mean more flatbreads and focaccias, he said.
“It’s just on the other side of the river,” Branda said. “It’s nice. It’s clean. It’s safe.”
With the holiday season approaching, Branda said it’s unclear whether he and Dito Sevilla will collaborate on one last themed Christmas tree in D.C. Citing a logistical issue, Branda said he wasn’t sure “we were going to be able to do it this year regardless.”
The new space, he said, has a large front patio, and he told Sevilla, “We could put up a Christmas village out there if we wanted to.”
Back in D.C., though, the change is the latest along 17th Street. Trio Bistro and Fox and Hounds Lounge closed last year, and True Value hardware store recently announced its plans to close at the end of 2026.
Jean Hughes, who has lived in Dupont for about 40 years, said Floriana is “a wonderful restaurant, and I’m glad they’re not closing closing, that they’re going to Old Town Alexandria. But I tend to stick to my neighborhood, so for me, it’s like they’re closing.”
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