(Washington, DC) – Today, on what would have been Mayor Marion Barry’s 83rd birthday, Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated DC’s “Mayor for Life” by helping dedicate a room in his honor at the soon-to-be opened Busboys and Poets restaurant in Ward 8. The new Busboys and Poets, located at 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, will celebrate their grand opening with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on March 12, 2019.
“It is fitting that we celebrate Mayor Barry’s birthday by dedicating a room in his honor at the first Busboys and Poets located East of the River,” said Mayor Bowser. “Busboys is known for fostering the type of discussion and community that our Mayor for Life was known for. Now, his legacy lives on in the opportunities that this restaurant and the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative will help deliver to the residents of Ward 8.”
The new Busboys and Poets is located at the same site as the new Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative (FSFSC)—a non-profit that serves families in Ward 8. Mayor Bowser provided $14.6 million in gap funding for the project that transformed a vacant building into a 20,000 square-foot facility for FSFSC’s new offices. The first floor will include the new Busboys and Poets, a bookstore, and a hospitality training center.