Succotash

Welcome to SUCCOTASH. We are thrilled to have you join us after months of pandemic‐induced closure that prevented our team from sharing the Southern United States from the perspective of Culinary Director, Chef Edward Lee.

To say that we are excited to be serving you again is an understatement. Our team has been preparing for your arrival and is ready to share warm hospitality as well as our delicious cuisine and beverage with you.

To be honest, we are also a little bit apprehensive. After all, just like you, we are learning to embrace the new normal required by the CDC/local government to ensure the health and safety of our guests and teammates while we serve you.

Despite these new protocols, we are determined to find a way to connect with each of you and deliver the experience you have come to expect from the team at SUCCOTASH. We will do our very best to live up to your expectations and do our part to keep you safe. In return, we ask that you help keep our team safe too.

To ensure we all follow the new rules required of restaurants and guests, you may notice that our service has changed a bit. For this reason, we want to set expectations and provide clarity about your upcoming dining experience:

1. Please be patient as these changes are new to all of us. Social distancing, staffing limits, enhanced sanitation/cleanliness procedures and service adjustments may result in a little extra time required to prepare your table and receive your order. If you feel like it’s been too long, please ask for a manager.
2. Everyone on our team is required to wear a face covering. Please do the same whenever you are not seated at your table. Face coverings are also required whenever you use the restroom or speak with a member of our front desk team. Please share this information with your fellow guests.
3. To respect social distancing, we will visit your table less often than you are accustomed to at SUCCOTASH. For example, water and water glasses will be brought initially, but we will leave it to you to pour and distribute. Please be sure to let us know if you prefer more or less service at any time.
4. To ensure your safety and ours, we will not be reaching across the table to clear plates or wipe your table as we did before. Please also assist our team with passing items to your fellow guests and returning to us when everyone at the table has finished their meal. You are free to stack your plates at the edge of the table and we will remove them as soon as possible. If you require clearing or cleaning of an individual place‐setting, please let us know.
5. We ask that you embrace contactless payment. It allows you to keep your credit card in your possession, provides a faster way to conclude your experience and lessens interpersonal contact from the exchange of pens and credit cards. Before you depart, please let your server know when you complete payment so we may confirm processing on our end. This is new technology, so please be patient.

The standards above apply to all teammates and guests of KNEAD Restaurants, including SUCCOTASH National Harbor, SUCCOTASH Penn Quarter and both MI VIDA and THE GRILL in DC’s District Wharf.

On behalf of the entire KNEAD family, thank you for joining us. Your support during these challenging times keeps our teammates employed and allows us to do what we love…taking care of you!

Friends of KNEAD,

We want to take a moment to voice our support for the black community, including our teammates, during these difficult times of upheaval throughout our country, and specifically in our hometown of Washington, DC. We deeply believe that Black Lives Matter and hope all of you will join us in solidarity with the black community.

What was reignited by horrendous events in Minneapolis and in Atlanta is symptomatic of deeply rooted systemic racism that has haunted our nation for centuries. The pandemic, which we are all suffering through, has laid bare the differences caused by race, income and ethnicity. These events have compounded the stress and helplessness that our citizens have been reeling from these last few months. It is no surprise to see our major cities boiling over with anger towards overt racism and police brutality. It is wrong on all levels for rights to be denied because of skin color, and we as a company vehemently condemn it. These senseless acts of violence against our citizens lay bare the open fissures that exist in our country.

We have seen brave people peacefully protesting the injustices that have plagued the black community for many years. We have also sadly witnessed bad actors bringing violence and destruction to our cities, but the peaceful aspect of these protests is clearly indicative of a need for greater respect, change and understanding for our citizens. We pray that those using their voices in a peaceful manner are not drowned out by those attempting to sabotage the right to protest and create anarchy and chaos in our cities.

KNEAD is an intentional melting pot that represents the best of our country and our community. It is through this diversity that we can show the world the best of what makes us special, unique and better together. We value equality, dignity and respect. While we cannot share the same experiences as some of our black colleagues, teammates, and friends, we must be sensitive to each other and take the time to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes ‐ remembering to always be honest, direct, and above all, kind. While we are all facing challenges and uncertainty that many of us have never seen before, we believe that these times are an opportunity for all of us to stand up for what is right, actively create change and ultimately become stronger from it. The past has shown that during times of civil unrest, pandemics and economic upheaval, the world has become better, stronger and more just. We know it is difficult to be optimistic, but we are hopeful for better times ahead.

What can we do? We pledge to listen, educate ourselves, and find ways to be a part of the solution. To start, we have made a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative on behalf of KNEAD and its employees, with the hopes of helping their organization fight racial injustice and end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the U.S. If you feel there is something that KNEAD can do better, please reach out to us. While we cannot do everything, especially in light of the economic impact that the pandemic has brought to our restaurants, we are committed to being part of the awakening and long‐overdue restructuring of our country.

Wishing you health, safety and peace during this time,

Jason and Michael
KNEAD Hospitality + Design Founders