Occidental History
The Occidental was opened by the Willards (of the Willard Hotel) in 1906 and operated by Mr. Gustav Bucholz.
In 1912, Bucholz obtained a lease from the Willards for this property and became the owner of the Occidental.
When DC’s baseball team, the Washington Senators, beat the New York Giants in a 12-inning final game to win their first (and only) World Series in 1924, the team’s victory banquet was held at the Occidental.
Before his death in 1925, Gus’s charm, food knowledge and attention to detail built a large and loyal following. Gus began displaying autographed photographs of his customers with the assistance of Sam J. Venable, a photographer whose studio was located nearby at 1225 G Street. Honored patrons submitting autographed photos were invited to return to the Occidental Restaurant for a complimentary dinner with a guest. Many of the guests were equally famous and the collection grew even larger.
Frederick Bucholz took over management of the restaurant after his father’s death in 1925 and it continued to thrive until his retirement in 1945.
In 1952, the Bucholz family sold the restaurant to New York restaurateurs Sonny and Danny Price. The Prices instituted the restaurant’s famous slogan, “Where Statesmen Dine.”
In 1986, the elegance of former decades was restored to Pennsylvania Avenue with the reopening of both the Willard-Intercontinental Hotel and the Occidental Restaurant.
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The Occidental Restaurant
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Many important events have occurred at the Occidental. The most important was a 1962 clandestine meeting between John Scali, an ABC-TV State Department Correspondent, and an unidentified KGB Agent that led to the official negotiated settlement of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A plaque that hangs above it identifies the booth at which this meeting took place.
Today, the Occidental continues its historical tradition, providing Washington, D.C. with the best in food and hospitality.
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