Les Halles in Penn Quarter served its final steak frites last night. According to the Going Out Gurus, the 15-year-old restaurant shuttered under the pressure of increased rents in the increasingly ritzy neighborhood, and not from a decline in customers. Hopefully some other local French restaurant will take up the Bastille Day Waiter's Race hosting duties -- any nominees for the job? Maybe Bistrot du Coin? And be sure to raise a glass of Beaujolais......

After rumblings and hints over the weekend, the Washingtonian's Todd Kliman confirmed today that Butterfield 9 will be closing after eight years. Kliman hints at strife between the ownership and Chef Michael Harr, while another source points the finger at financial hardships. With the economy as it is, today's newest closing probably won't be the last. Harr, a D.C.-area native, hopes to stay in the city, but with fewer openings and more closings, options look......

It was just a couple weeks ago that we told you about Olsson's plans to shutter its Penn Quarter location -- which it finally did, on Friday. In an email to customers, owner John Olsson had said that "The landlord has other plans for the space," and we confirmed that those plans were to bring in UK noodle shop Wagamama. But the Post reported on Saturday that it looks like there's a lot more to......

The closing of Colorado Kitchen is one of the more notable in local restaurant news. Chef Gillian Clark is well known in D.C. for her strong personality and her ability to persevere as one of the few female head chefs. Clark told Washingtonian's Todd Kliman that the closing was due to a space issue. Maybe it's all semantics, but that sounds like slightly different language on Rasmus, the auction site where the kitchen's equipment is......

Sad news for lovers of locally-owned bookstores: the Olsson's location in the Lansburgh building in Penn Quarter is shutting down. We had heard rumors this was in the works for a couple of weeks, especially after so many author events appeared to be moving to the Dupont Circle location. The email below was sent out to the Olsson's list on Monday. Dear Friends, After 15 years in The Lansburgh building on 7th Street NW, the......