Fourth Estate Restaurant at the National Press Club Closes for Renovations

The Fourth Estate restaurant at the National Press Club will close beginning Aug. 7 until after Labor Day, in order to complete a full-scale renovation.

The Fourth Estate, which opened to the public in late 2005, has been a popular dining space for Press Club members since 1984.

The new restaurant design will add more flexibility for hosting meetings and receptions as well as the restaurant's signature chef-wine dinners. These intimate dinners, in which famous chefs discuss their latest book while presiding over a meal based on the book, have featured chefs such as Jacques Pepin, Anthony Bourdain, Marcus Samuelsson, Giada De Laurentiis, Eric Ripert, Alton Brown and Ming Tsai, among others.

The renovation will bring new energy efficient lighting, wool carpeting, a relocated and more visible entrance, and wood-paneled walls. The update will include new photos pulled from the vast National Press Club photo archives. “We're excited to bring a fresh look to this space in our centennial year,” said Bill McCarren, General Manager of the Press Club. The restaurant will have a new look but its emphasis on new American cuisine and organic produce from the Chesapeake watershed will continue.

Included in the work will be updates to the Fourth Estate Award Winners' room, the private dining room which is part of the Fourth Estate. The room is dedicated to the winners of the Press Club's annual award for a distinguished career in journalism and holds up to 40 persons for seated meals and 26 for conference sessions.

Kody Safrian, Principal, Design Services Group of Gaithersburg, MD, handled the planning and design of the new space.