Taqueria Las Gemelas, a District restaurant that received $600,000 in pandemic stimulus money and a visit from President Biden in 2021, has sold its last taco.

The taqueria, located in Northeast’s Union Market District, closed Sunday.

On Cinco de Mayo in 2021, Mr. Biden got takeout from the fast-casual eatery that was the first recipient of a grant from the Small Business Administration’s $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Its sister restaurant Destino, a pricier sit-down space in La Cosecha, also shared in the grant.

Both restaurants were shuttered Sunday night, owner Josh Phillips told The Washington Times.

“We tried, and things got more expensive, and the foot traffic we expected and the neighborhood we planned for didn’t materialize in a way we could capitalize on,” Mr. Phillips said Wednesday.

After opening for business in two prominent front-facing spaces in 2021, he said he exhausted the COVID relief funds on payroll and on expanding outdoor dining space to comply with the city’s pandemic restrictions.

The restaurants were busy on weekends, but Mr. Phillips said several office and event spaces the restaurants had expected to provide “a significant source of revenue” during weekdays remained unoccupied.

Of the one inhabited office building, he noted that “not many people actually work there at this point.”

The closures come as restaurants in the nation’s capital have struggled with surging crime rates, rising costs, labor shortages and a sharp drop-off in daily commuters as more people work from home in Virginia and Maryland since the pandemic.

Shelley S. Hymes, who promotes dining out on her podcast “LUNCH with Shelley,” said these problems have outlasted the government’s stimulus checks.

“It’s been two years since the president said COVID is over, but restaurants are still suffering,” said Ms. Hymes, founder and president of the public relations firm Angel Enterprises. “I encourage people to go to lunch because these are real people, real businesses, and they’re an important part of the fabric of our city.”

The Times has reached out to the White House for comment.

Mr. Phillips, who also lives in the Union Market District, announced the closures online on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he said had not spoken to the Biden administration about it.

“I don’t have anyone’s contact there or much communication with them outside of getting a nice holiday letter each year,” he said. “As far as I know, all the COVID relief programs are over, as is the pandemic, so there would be nobody to ask for more money.”

According to Mr. Phillips, restaurants all over the city have struggled to stay open. He is also the co-owner of Ghostburger, a restaurant in Shaw that makes the signature mezcal margarita he previously sold at Las Gemelas and Destino.

“The economy is definitely getting better, but not everywhere at the same pace,” Mr. Phillips said. “I really hope the next tenants do something cool with our spaces.”

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.