Last year around this time my wife and I went on a quick trip to D.C. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and left the following Monday morning.

We stayed at the Hilton National Mall in L'Enfant Plaza near the International Spy Museum, partially due to the access to a major Metro Station near the plaza.

Something that has been bugging me though has been the mall/shopping center beneath L'Enfant Plaza. We walked through there several times over that long weekend in order to get to the Metro station as well as to find something to eat since we felt like we were in a bit of a food desert. The only problem was that over half the stores and restaurants were never open when we walked through.

Was this just a "dead mall" situation where no one really goes here? If so, why were the restaurants there but not open?

Were hours extremely limited due to it being winter?

Or is it just a sketchy shopping center that we really shouldn't have gone to?

Businesses there cater to the 9-5 crowd. No surprise they were closed or have limited hours all other time.