The former Adams Morgan home of the original Amsterdam Falafelshop has hit the market for $1.9 million, just weeks after the late-night dining staple closed its doors.
The 3,624-square-foot, four-level building at 2425 18th St. NW conveys fully vacant with the restaurant space on the ground-floor, an unfinished sublevel, two upper levels most recently occupied as a three-bedroom multifamily unit, and a streatery space out front. The property has a 2024 assessed value of just shy of $1.3 million, according to the D.C. tax office.
Per Josh Feldman and Ian Ruel of Feldman Ruel Urban Property Advisors, who have the exclusive listing, those upper levels could function as an apartment or “additional dining space and/or back-office space for another restaurant concept.”
The building, which sits on a 1,600-square-foot lot, has been owned by the same family for 40 years. It served as the main office of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit, until 2005, when Amsterdam Falafelshop opened. The current generation of family ownership has moved out of the D.C. area, per Feldman Ruel, spurring their decision to sell.
According to D.C. tax records, the listed owners are Kelly Reineke Trustee and Martin Seldman Trustee, care of Neil Seldman. Neil Seldman, co-founder of the Institute for Self-Reliance, retired from the organization in 2022, per its website.
The beloved Amsterdam Falafelshop closed in late May. Its owner, Arianne Bennett, told multiple media outlets she didn’t plan to close, but the building’s ownership wanted out and asked $2 million, which she couldn’t afford. Bennett’s husband and business partner, Scott Bennett, died in January 2022 after a battle with Covid-19. Arianne Bennett was the tenant in the upper level apartment. She told WAMU should would relocate to Virginia until she finds a new home and job.
The restaurant had expanded, locally and through franchising, pre-Covid. Only a location in Miami remains.