Clinton-era favorite Kinkead's to shutter in December Posted at 12:13 PM ET, 11/21/2012 Bob Kinkead prepares sauteed soft shelled crabs in 2009 at his soon to shutter Foggy Bottom restaurant. (Dominic Bracco II/The Washington Post) (DOMINIC BRACCO II) After a run of nearly 20 years, Kinkead's - "the cafeteria of the Clinton Administration" and the longtime top Zagat-rated restaurant in Washington - is closing Dec. 22, chef and owner Bob Kinkead announced. "The lease is up" in February, explained the recipient of the 1995 Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation. But Kinkead plans to turn out the lights in his 245-seat seafood behemoth a few weeks early, in part to give his 95 staff members Christmas off. While some online observers are calling it the end of an era, Kinkead does not plan to retire. "I can't," financially, he said. Indeed, he may use part of the soon-to-be-empty Foggy Bottom space for his next idea, which he hints will feature "Mediterranean-Italian twists on what I do." "I'm a big believer in restaurants having a shelf life," he said. The news of the impending closure was released prematurely last night via Twitter, by a manager who will be "severely disciplined" today, Kinkead said.