by Honeymoon Chicken
guest contributor, opinion

We invite you to join us next week for Community Social Hours, Monday 10/2 through Thursday 10/5 from 4-5 pm. You can enjoy a free meal (either a 2-piece combo or choice of sandwich), meet our team and get all your questions answered. Please RSVP so we can track headcount >

As some of you may know, we encountered pest challenges six weeks ago. We extend our sincerest apologies to each and every member of our community as we understand this may have impacted your trust and confidence in us and we want to address the situation directly and openly.

To fix this problem, we initiated a 4-step plan:

We reinforced our building facilities, inside and out, to eliminate any and all entry points and we have implemented stringent protocols to prevent a recurrence.
We worked cooperatively with our neighbors to fortify any and all shared spaces.
We requested and received permission from the City to use third-party control experts to eradicate the problem affecting public spaces outside of our premises.
Pursued a rigorous and comprehensive review of our operations, with a focus on food safety and hygiene standards given this situation. As part of our operational review, our staff received additional training to ensure that they follow all food safety guidelines, including those specifically adopted by us, in response to this problem that is affecting restaurants all over Washington DC. The result of this review is that we enhanced our operating standards.

Our four-step plan worked as we are now free of the problem and smarter about how to deal with it if it ever happens again.

We appreciate the health department's ongoing support and acknowledgment of our efforts, and we want to assure you, our guests, that we have passed 3 health inspections since the origination of the video that circulated. We understand that regaining your trust will require a sustained effort on our part and we are fully committed to that effort.

We are actively seeking input and feedback from you, our valued customers and residents of the community, to ensure that we are meeting your expectations and addressing all of your concerns. Your voices matter and we are dedicated to listening and responding.

We are fully aware that rebuilding trust takes time, and we are committed to being transparent. We are determined to emerge from this experience as a better and stronger establishment, a stronger team and one that is worthy of your trust and patronage for years to come.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we work tirelessly to regain your trust.

Look forward to seeing your smiling faces,

Rashawn Borton, General Manager
Stacey Ford, Front of House Manager
Oto Cruz, Culinary Manager

Edit 9/29 5pm: headline updated to reflect issue was with facilities of the building