Rose’s Luxury Presents Plans for Retractable Glass Roof

The acclaimed Barracks Row restaurant Rose’s Luxury wants its customers to be able to dine on its rooftop year-round.

Owner Aaron Silverman unveiled plans last night for a retractable glass structure atop the 717 8th St. SE restaurant. The glass-and-steel enclosure would allow Rose’s Luxury to accommodate customers on the roof during cold weather, not just when it’s warm.

Since June 2014, the restaurant has seated one table of eight to 10 diners on the roof, Monday through Saturday. The rooftop meal costs $125 per person and, unlike the rest of the reservation-free eatery, seats can be booked three weeks in advance.

But rain, snow and cold weather makes the outdoor space unusable, Silverman said.

“Right now, we can only use it in nice, warm weather,” he said. “We served guests up there all last year [in warm weather] with no complaints.”

Silverman told ANC 6B’s planning committee that he hopes to install the roof this year. He said he already has the backing of staffers in the District’s Historic Preservation Office.

The ANC 6B panel took no action on Silverman’s proposal. He presented his plans to the committee at the request of HPO as a courtesy, he said. The District approval process is expected to take “months and months,” Silverman said.

Silverman is planning a second restaurant just north of Rose’s Luxury. The still-unnamed fine-dining restaurant will replace Homebody, the high-end home goods shop that’s occupied the storefront for the past 10 years, as Hill Now reported.