Cleveland Park

Criticism

The Changing Heart of Service

December 15, 2025

No one should go their whole lives without applying themselves to either retail or front-facing restaurant industry service. One really doesn't know about humanity, or oneself, or the strange inward optics binding coworkers, the voluptuous differences and attractions of the trade, or, most importantly, how one is changed oneself, through the process. 

As a medium of exchange, of disbursement, of process, and processing, 'service' goes beyond what it should be able to do and renders long possibilities of the heart and soul, of the mind and desire, of the need for work and the purposes to exclaim 0 of something irreducibly human. 

Cleveland Park is looking to bring the wine life to a new generation. For more information contact wine@takoma.us

In 2026, Cleveland Park will begin a 2 year-long series of interviews with men and women in the local retail and restaurant industry. From bar backs to servers, food runners to owners, we are seeking to capture America’s most democratic industry. We are seeking to understand the nature of service, celebrate the rewards of private industry, and capture the mystery of food and wine. 

Malik Wilson, Executive Editor

Bijan Dabell, Managing Editor

Caelan, Lead Editor

(Publishing Date: October 2026)

In partnership with the Takoma Foundation, Takoma is helping young people in the restaurant and retail world achieve their full potential.