Nation's Restaurant News
D.C. restaurant group separates from NRA

October 27, 2010 | By Paul Frumkin

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington said it will cease to affiliate itself with the National Restaurant Association and convert to an independent organization beginning Jan. 1.

The Washington, D.C.-based RAMW board of directors made the decision after the NRA introduced a new dual-membership agreement that restricts state affiliates from representing operators outside of their recognized state lines.

RAMW’s membership includes about 300 restaurateurs from Northern Virginia and Maryland as well as about 400 operating in the District of Columbia. As a result of the new agreement, members from Northern Virginia and Maryland would no longer qualify for dual membership in the state association and the NRA.

“Many of our members have restaurants in several places — in the District and Virginia or Maryland,” said Lynne Breaux, president of RAMW. “We are a hybrid, not a state; we’re a region.” Read the full story .