The Obamas Celebrate the First Granny's Birthday at Old Town's Majestic Cafe

Photo by Flickr/9620760@N04/3226678671/ Barack Obama and his family on election night in Chicago, IL on Wednesday, November 5, 2008, watching the returns come in. Left to Right: Malia, Sasha, Barack, Michelle and Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson. All but the President dined in Old Town Thursday.

What with Twitter and all, just how's the First Family of the United States supposed to get a quiet night out for dinner to celebrate the Grandmother-in-Chief's 73rd birthday in Old Town?
 
But they did, we were assured, only after Twitter "Fons and Berrys" started lighting up around 8 pm Thursday with Michelle Obama sightings at the Majestic Cafe at 911 King Street in Old Town.
 

Official White House photo by Pete Souza On July 11, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Malia and Sasha, participated in a departure ceremony at Accra airport in Ghana. On July 30, the First Lady, First Daughters and "First Granny" celebrated Marian Robinson's birthday dinner in Old Town at The Majestic Cafe.

Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner of the casually swank restaurant which serves "pure and simple American classics," confirmed to Local Kicks the birthday dinner after First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother and birthday celebrant Marian Shields Robinson, and daughters Malia and Sasha departed around 10 pm in a cloud of Chevy Suburban smoke.
 
Cars were triple parked on King Street and the facade's glass windows were smudged by hands and faces of the curious, all clamoring to gain entry. "They were celebrating a birthday, we were told," Meshelle said.
 
The birthday they were reportedly celebrating was that of Robinson, the "First Granny," as Michelle Obama's mother has been dubbed by media outlets. A former secretary at Spiegel catalog and a bank, Marian Shields Robinson is the first live-in grandmother at the White House since Elivera M. Doud during the Eisenhower administration, according to Wikipedia.
 
Robinson is a live-in nanny of sorts at the White House, where Sasha Obama is the second-youngest child to reside there, after John F. Kennedy, Jr. arrived as an infant in 1961. Sasha, famously born on the 4th of July, is also the first White House resident born in the 21st century. Malia's birthday, on June 8, was celebrated in London this year with box seats to a performance of "The Lion King."
 

Courtesy Photo The Majestic Cafe was rehabilitated in 2003 by a group of Old Town investors led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA ) and his wife Lisa Collis, along with Alexandria developer Murray Bonitt and former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer and his wife Megan. A new investor group led by Cathal Armstrong merged with the first investors in 2007.

Twitter reports had the security detail at about 12 serious-looking Secret Service agents. not including the sharpshooters on the rooftop of the 75-year-old art deco restaurant, which is a state landmark.

Chef Shannon Overmiller prepared and cooked the Obamas dinner while Restaurant Eve's Chef and Majestic co-owner Cathal Armstrong expedited the food for the evening.  
 
"To her exceptional credit, our General Manager Maria Chicas followed our PPX protocol and did everything in her power to protect their privacy while they dined to allow them to feel comfortable and secure while at The Majestic," Meshelle said, presumably referring to their well-rehearsed "Public Person X" strategy.
 
"So much so, that I only learned they were there via a text message sent to me from a regular guest as they dined next to the First Lady!"

The Majestic Cafe was rehabilitated in 2003 by a group of Old Town investors led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA ) and his wife Lisa Collis, along with Alexandria developer Murray Bonitt and former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer and his wife Megan.
 
After a new investor group led by Cathal Armstrong merged with the first investors in 2007, new life appeared to pump into the restaurant. Chef Armstrong introduced some clever twists to the menu, including his famous "Saint and The Spud" Sunday dinners inspired by his Irish heritage. The dinners featured Roast leg of lamb with lamb jus, a Navarin of spring peas, carrots, and onion, Fancy Spuds and a salad of spring mix with honeyed vinaigrette.  
 
About a month after the merger of the restaurant's two groups of investors, Beyer, who was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate to be the next Ambassador to Switzerland, organized a fundraiser for Obama for America.
 
"Senator Obama attended the fundraiser without his wife," Meshelle recalled. "We are proud and so very honored that she found her way!"

Courtesy photo Chef Shannon Overmiller of The Majestic prepared dinner for the Obamas.

Then came actor Val Kilmer.

In late February, diners at the Majestic became momentarily breathless one night when Kilmer sauntered in out of the cold with an unidentified couple, wearing a black jacket, jeans, sandals and socks.

The 49-year-old actor, who was staying five blocks away at the newly-opened Lorien Hotel, ordered the Majestic meatloaf and vanilla cake, which he reportedly washed down with some very nice red wine.  

In recent months, the prospective New Mexico gubernatorial candidate ("If I run, I plan to win," he confidently told New Mexico scribes), has been spotted around town, while visiting the Old Town offices of two major Democratic political consulting firms he's reportedly scoping to help his campaign.

It was not the first visit to Alexandria by the Obamas. Last month, on a muggy Saturday before Father's Day, President Obama treated his two daughters to a custard run in Del Ray.

Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, visited the Fairy Godmother for the sweet treats, snacking on vanilla custard with hot fudge and toasted almonds in a cup.  Within minutes of Obama's arrival in his first visit to Alexandria as President, frantic texting, Twitters and cell phone calls had drawn over 200 people to the quiet sidewalks of Mount Vernon Avenue.

Official White House photo by Pete Souza Back at The White House, President Obama, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge, MA. Police Sergeant James Crowley toast the start of their meeting in the White House Rose Garden.

Sasha asked for vanilla custard in a waffle cone, and Malia ordered a brownie sundae with vanilla custard, chocolate sprinkles, whipped creme with a cherry on top. "It was so cute because Malia decided she did not want the whipped creme so her father scooped it into his sundae cup," owner Liz Davis told Local Kicks.
 
"Well, I'm hoping to butter them up because tomorrow's Father's Day and I'm hoping to get something good," Obama told Davis as he handed her $9 in cash for the order. Obama then tried to tip the staff, but was told by Davis that tips were not permitted.

On Thursday it was unclear what the Obamas ordered at the Majestic or how much they tipped.  

Stay tuned to Twitter for more detailed, breathless updates.

Email the writer at jarundel@localkicks.com.

Photo by Flickr/tom ruaat Around midnight, the sidewalks were quiet again in front of The Majestic Cafe in Old Town.

Photo by Jordan Wright/Local Kicks Shannon Overmiller, the chef at Majestic Cafe, at the Old Town Farmer's Market on Saturday, 24 hours after serving dinner to the Obamas.