Popular D.C. bagel shop Call Your Mother opened a new location Feb. 3 on Connecticut Avenue near the Van Ness neighborhood. The local chain announced the new spot, which is less than two miles from American University, on Jan. 3, replacing Little Red Fox cafe.
Located at 5035 Connecticut Ave., the new shop is within walking distance of AU.
“It's a beautiful and historic space,” Nikki Rappaport, Call Your Mother’s chief strategy officer, told The Eagle. “But you'll find all of our signature menu items and design details, like our flower wall and phone wall.”
Call Your Mother, a self-proclaimed “Jew-ish” deli, opened their first shop in fall of 2018 in Park View to owners Daniela Moreira and Andrew Dana. Since then, they have expanded to their current eight stores. The other locations are in Capitol Hill, Bethesda, Georgetown, North Bethesda, West End and Logan Circle. Moreira and Dana also plan to spread outside of the DMV and open two stores in Denver later this spring.
Finishing touches were put on the building a few days before it opened.
Emma Miloglav, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, was hired to work at the new location. Last year, she visited the other locations with her friends frequently to get bagels and coffee and do homework.
“The energy of Call Your Mother plus all the good experiences … made it seem like a great place to work,” she said.
Miloglav’s favorite bagel is The Mountain View on a cheddar bagel with added bacon.
Call Your Mother was dubbed a “Joe Biden-approved” establishment when he visited the Georgetown location in January 2021, making it his first restaurant visit as president. More recently, the president chose Jeff Zients, a founding investor in Call Your Mother, as his new chief of staff this January.
Little Red Fox, a local cafe, closed in December after nine years. Owners Matt and Jena Carr posted a statement on Instagram announcing the news. Their sister store, Sugar Fox, also closed. They said the choice was a personal decision, not a business decision. “In order to address complicated health issues and prioritize the well being of our family, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to close,” the post read.
The Carrs are working on a cookbook in a comic book style with their Little Red Fox recipes and are planning to do a Kickstarter sometime in March.
Matt Carr reached out to Call Your Mother directly when he was looking for someone to take over the space.
“It was the perfect fit for them and us,” Rappaport said.
Additionally, at least five cooks from Little Red Fox are now working at Call Your Mother.
Olivia Jensen, a sophomore in the School of International Service, worked at Little Red Fox from August 2022 until its closing. “I’m still very close with some of my coworkers,” she said. “It was a lot of other students from AU who worked there … Other people in D.C. who are [of] similar age and just creating that community was really nice,” Jensen said.
Matt Carr spoke with The Eagle about his favorite memories at Little Red Fox. “All the wonderful people that came through and spent so much time working for us and customers spending time in the shops,” he said. “We built a real amazing group of friends and family over our nine years, and that's something I will cherish forever.”
This article was edited by Gabe Castro-Root, Jordan Young and Nina Heller. Copy editing by Isabelle Kravis, Sarah Clayton, Leta Lattin and Stella Guzik.
