Serendipity 3 Opens Its Doors to Customers
By • June 12, 2013 0 939
You can stop asking when. On Memorial Day, Serendipity 3 officially opened its doors at the busy intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, May 30, to customers who quickly discovered they had to wait (some up to an hour or two at one point during the 95-degree Monday) to get a table in the packed restaurant, once home to the famed Nathans.
After months of prepping, co-owners Britt Swan and Rodrigo Garcia welcomed Georgetowners and other Washingtonians, along with the tourists in town, who dove into the frozen hot chocolates and shakes and snapped up burgers and hot dogs. There is a $1,000 sundae (no buyer yet as of press time) as well as a $69 hot dog. For this latest Serendipity 3, the extensive menu includes crab cakes, a D.C. exclusive.
Founded in 1954 by Stephen Bruce in New York City, Serendipity 3 has become a sweet tooth favorite, eclectic in its decor, and a favorite meeting spot. It has touted its celebrity connections, whether Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Kennedy, Bill Clinton or Sarah Palin, and provides the title and scenes for a romantic comedy film many guys cannot stand. Like the other New York and Las Vegas locations, the restaurant sells Serendipity 3 merchandise.
A few family members of the co-owners are involved in the eatery: hostess Katrina Rubin, whose mother Janine Schoonover, married to Swan, has been working on the debut for months, and Garcia’s brother Alexander Miguens, an investor.
On Monday, Twitter, Facebook and other websites held comments and photos on the opening. NBC4’s TV reporter Pat Collins stopped by and interviewed customers, and NBC4 news anchor Eun Yang brought her family.
“More than 500 covers went out opening day,” Garcia told us at the end of the first day. “Fro ho [Frrrozen Hot Chocolate] was the most popular order.”
Meanwhile, it looks like this restaurant can live up to its definition: “ser•en•dip•i•ty (n) the art of making happy discoveries, or finding the unexpectedly pleasant by chance or sagacity.”
Serendipity 3 will be open 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., Friday and Saturday. Later, it will also have a carryout counter.
