After nearly 30 years as a staple of the D.C. dining scene, the family-owned Dukem Ethiopian restaurant will serve its final meal on November 7.
The familiar scent of spiced tibs and the communal folding of injera will soon disappear from the corner of the block. After nearly 30 years of serving the D.C. community, the owners of Dukem have decided to shutter their doors for good.
The final service is scheduled for November 7. For Lydia Tefera and her family, the decision to close the restaurant her father founded in 1997 is a quiet, heavy conclusion to a generational legacy.
“We as a family have made. my mom. my sister and I have made the really difficult decision that we will be closing our doors on Nov. 7 for good,” Tefera announced in a recent video post. The timeline of the restaurant’s struggle has been public; two years ago. Tefera issued a candid plea for community support. warning that the business was approaching a breaking point. “Nearly almost 30 years in — it’s coming to the point that we don’t know how much longer this business is going to last. ” she said at the time.
For decades, the menu remained a fixed point in a changing city. Patrons gathered for plates of goden tibs—short beef ribs—and a rotation of beef or lamb tibs. alongside an array of vegan and vegetarian offerings served on the signature spongy flatbread. Beyond the food. the space functioned as a local anchor. drawing in regulars. neighbors. and friends who marked the restaurant as a staple of the area.
As the final date approaches, the family has shifted toward a period of reflection. A formal statement on the restaurant’s website extended a final acknowledgment to those who kept the business running: “To every guest who shared a meal with us. every employee who became part of the Dukem family. and every regular. friend. neighbor and community member who supported us along the way. thank you.”.
The announcement has prompted an immediate public response, with nearly 1,000 comments left on the restaurant’s social media page as of Monday night. The family is now using the remaining weeks to invite those patrons back for one final meal to reminisce and celebrate the decades behind them.
Dukem Washington DC restaurants Ethiopian food restaurant closure Lydia Tefera