Sarah Jessica Parker and Frank Gehry Eat Dinner at Big Bear Cafe

Perry Stein
May 20, 2014 10 AM

Last night, Sarah Jessica Parker, Frank Gehry, artist Chuck Close, and Troy Andrews (aka Trombone Shorty) gathered at Bloomingdale's Big Bear Cafe for a casual dinner.

Big Bear knew they were coming ahead of time, and closed the cafe to the public, according to operations manager Mike Balderrama.

The artists and a team from the President's Committee on Arts and the Humanities are in D.C. for the Turnaround Arts program—-an initiative that uses arts to improve student performance. (Parker and Close are members of the arts and humanities committee.) They went to dinner last night in preparation for today's White House talent show, Balderrama wrote in an email to City Desk.

No word on whether the group did $5 beer and whiskey combos at nearby Showtime after dinner.