Red, white, and blue flags fly out front of Carmine’s this week. | Carmine’s The 20,000-square-foot restaurant and its neighbors in Penn Quarter prepare for the big day Penn Quarter’s family-style favorite Carmine’s continues to capitalize on its cavernous size and blocks-away proximity to the presidential swearing-in ceremony by welcoming the masses inside on Monday, January 20. Once every four years, a moving blob of pedestrians make their way down 7th Street NW to catch a glimpse of the pomp and circumstance around the U.S. Capitol. Authorities anticipate 250,000 ticketed guests this year, and metal detectors at the Pennsylvania Avenue NW entrance typically cause a big traffic jam of people looking for a morning meal. With 800 seats, nine private dining rooms, and 20,000 square feet, Carmine’s is D.C.’s biggest restaurant (425 7th Street NW). CEO Jeff Bank no longer names which groups host fundraisers and events behind closed doors (“It starts a thing,” he says). He does mention a big one that helped christen Carmine’s in 2010, when Democrat Adrian Fenty took over the entire restaurant when he ran again for D.C. mayor. Carmine’s also doubles as an Inauguration Day respite for reporters covering the big event down the street. “They can come get coffee, use the bathroom, charge their phone, use the internet,” he says. For the past three presidential inaugurations, Barack Obama (2013), Donald Trump (2017), and Joe Biden (2021), Carmine’s opened early at 7 a.m. The 60th inauguration for President-elect Trump will be no different. Once every four years, Carmine’s puts out a buffet-styled breakfast spread full of freshly made eggs, with mimosas flowing starting at 8 a.m. “We do it for exposure for ourself and to help people out who came here for it,” says Bank, who runs other Carmine’s across NYC, Atlantic City, and Vegas. Its Italian American menu full of chicken Parm, calamari, plump meatballs, and football-sized lasagna takes over when normal operational hours start at 11:30 a.m. The come-and-go day typically draws upwards of 400 patrons, he says. Carmine’s also makes old-school political buttons for each president-elect. During its first inauguration, Carmine’s over-ordered 5,000 for Obama and he brought extras down to the plaza. “I’m a grassroots kind of guy — I was running down Pennsylvania Avenue as a grown adult, throwing buttons into vendors’ for-sale bins,” he says. Metro riders also get their own memento in the form of a SmartTrip card splashed with the 47th president-elect’s mug. He expects more Inauguration Day business than usual. “We historically do very well when the party changes hands, with more lobbyists and people coming to town,” he says. Inauguration Day also coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the first time since Bill Clinton took office back in 1997. Politics aside, Trump is the president-elect of the U.S., says Bank, “and we are going to celebrate our country regardless of the party.” Due to the pandemic, the parade and balls were canceled for Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Trump’s 2017 inauguration reportedly attracted upwards of 600,000 people and large groups of demonstrators. One particular attendee that stood out to Bank was a random llama walking by Carmine’s. He anticipates Trump’s second inauguration to be more “calm and orderly” than the first. “I do think there will be more people because he has a stronger and more loyal following now than at the beginning,” he says. The city is taking obvious security precautions, however, which include multiple road and Metro closures around Inauguration Day. One restaurant across the street will likely be full that day, too. Hill Country is a known Republican favorite for barbecue, line dancing, karaoke, and one infamous visit from NY’s embattled Rep. George Santos. Nearby hotels are also feeling the Trump bump. Many of Marriott’s properties are “fully committed” over inauguration , per director of PR Mark Indre, and some of their bars plan to keep serving later than usual. Marriott Metro Center’s Spotted Zebra showcases a special “Presidential PBJ” with maple bacon until midnight. Root & Vine at downtown’s Westin DC, located right across from the inaugural balls going on at the convention center, will keep pouring fancy “Cabinet Choice” martinis with caviar-stuffed olives and gold leaf until 2 a.m. Just over 30 D.C. bars, hotels, and restaurants applied for extended hours to serve alcohol through Monday, which is much less than Trump’s last inauguration eight years ago. The nearby 897-room Grand Hyatt Washington, which shows no availability through inauguration , made national headlines during yesterday’s contentious confirmation hearing for defense-secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. Congress, which we now know is fueled on Celsius energy drinks, peppered Hegseth with questions about his past. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) specifically asked about one night in 2014 at his Hyatt holiday party and whether he was intoxicated and had to be carried up to his room. (“Anonymous smears,” Hegseth repeatedly shot back.) Downtown’s Hotel Harrington and its lobby-level dive bar Harry’s — the go-to pick of the Proud Boys prior to the January 6 insurrection — is no longer an option; it closed in 2023 after a 109-year run. Pennsylvania Avenue’s fancy Waldorf-Astoria could potentially bring back its controversial Trump International Hotel flag; the Trump family is in preliminary talks to reclaim the hotel, per the Wall Street Journal. (Lobby-level Bazaar by José Andrés, which replaced steakhouse BLT Prime in 2023, plans to remain no matter what, the celebrity chef’s restaurant group tells Washingtonian.) The hotel already has a lingering Trump fan base. On election night in 2024, red MAGA hats and patrons sporting “I’ll Be Back” stickers were spotted smirking as the results rolled in above the glitzy bar.