Food Frenzy on Historic Day

An event involving almost 2 million people outside in 20-degree weather for hours on end meant at least one thing— lots of people were hungry and they would eat whatever they could get their hands on.
With restrictions on what they could carry, and the difficulty of packing food fit to stand the cold, hundreds of thousands of people who swarmed the National Mall for Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday looked for nourishment and warmth wherever they could find it, which was a bonanza for concession stands in downtown Washington, D.C.
At least 50 people stood in line an hour before an official inauguration concession stand in a white tent near the National Museum of Natural History opened at 8 a.m. Surrounding Starbucks’ and other coffee venues were filled to the brim inside and had lines spilling out the door as early as 6 a.m.
Some decided to tough it out.
“I could really use some coffee but the line was way too long,” said Jorge Grimm, 53, who works for Verizon Wireless.
Official Inaugural concessions were of a higher standard than typical street vendor fare. The menu included kosher hot dogs from $6, mild Italian sausage for $8, roasted vegetable hummus wraps for $8 and a garden burger for $7, as well beverages including hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee and water.
“I am starving, but I don’t really want an overpriced hot dog that will get cold in two seconds,” said Andre Viello, 23.
The stand at 7th St. and Madison Drive ran out of food before the swearing according to one onlooker.
Some people came prepared and avoided the long lines. Lena Johansen from Arlington, Va. came armed with snacks sandwiches, cheese sticks and juice boxes for her two children under 10.
“Mostly they are too cold to eat this stuff but just a little food is keeping them from having a meltdown,” said Johansen.
Others polled nearby revealed a cornucopia of snack foods, including Dunkin Donuts, Subway sandwiches, and granola bars. Students Jessamyn Stanley and Whitney McDavid of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro caravanned up to the inauguration in cars. They brought granola bars and burritos from Qdoba, a fast-food Mexican chain. They ate the day-old burritos before 8 a.m.
“Yesterday they were having a buy one get one free special so we brought them, but we already ate them,” said Stanley.
Restaurants like Qdoba had promotional sales connected to the inauguration. The Snack Factory gave out free bags of Pretzel Chips from a promotional truck in DuPont Circle the day before the inauguration. Empty chip bags were noticeably scattered throughout the mall.
After the ceremony, those sick of navigating the crowds stopped for food at the street vendors. The white cart vendor trucks that are normally on the National Mall were located on surrounding streets, making them convenient for the scores of inauguration goers heading to transportation after the ceremony.
“I know I’m not goin’ to get on the Metro anytime soon, so I might as well try and eat something,” said Washington D.C. native Clara Dailey, 22, with about 20 people ahead of her in line for a food vendor on D Street.
Some people were so intent on hearing Obama’s speech they were able to ignore their hunger. But in the long lines headed home at the Union Station Metro stop, going home was the single goal.
“I was in high spirits most of the day, but now I just want to get home, get warm and eat,” said Linda Jackson, 42.