Tom Brown has sold the Passenger, a key bar in DC's cocktail scene, to regular Sanjay Mandhaiya. The bar closed for updates and will reopen in the fall as a cafe-bistro-tavern, featuring an affordable American menu and a fresh design. Mandhaiya aims to attract a broader clientele beyond bartenders and industry workers with a diverse food selection including burgers and pasta. The bar will also maintain a cocktail focus with happy hours. Previous challenges included the need for capital updates and customer retention post-pandemic.
"I want to elevate this brand, that's all I'm doing. I'm making something better out of its current situation," Mandhaiya says. "It's not going to be divey."
"The fact of the matter is, it was ready for a capital investment, and I didn't have capital," Brown explains.
Mandhaiya, who has experience in a breadth of cuisines from Indian to French to Mediterranean, says he wants to do a contemporary take on a classic American menu.
While Brown's version of the Passenger carried a lot of esoteric spirits, Mandhaiya notes it did not have basics like Tito's. "People have been asking for Tito's."
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