CELEBRATING THE BEST OF LOCAL โ WASHINGTON, DC ยท MARYLAND ยท VIRGINIA
INQUIRE ABOUT MEMBERSHIP โ
PARTNER WITH US
We would love to
tell your story.
It usually starts over a cup of coffee.
The County Edit is a small team who love this region and spend most of our time looking for
the good in it. When we find a business worth knowing about, we ask whether we can write
about it properly โ and the businesses we feature become members, which is what keeps
the whole thing running.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
What makes us fall for a place.
There is no scorecard, and none of this is about how big you are or how long you
have been open. It is more like five things we tend to notice.
01
Something made with care.
Whatever it is you do, you do it well, and you can see it standing right in front of it. That is
usually the first thing we notice.
02
A point of view that is yours.
The place feels like somebody rather than a template. Somebody made real decisions here,
and you can tell what they were.
03
Somebody who loves it.
There is a person behind it who cares how the day goes. Meeting them is honestly our
favorite part of this job.
04
Somewhere we would send a friend.
The simplest one, and the only one that really matters: are we already recommending you to
people we like, before any of this ever came up?
05
Somewhere that will still feel this way next year.
Not a test โ we just love businesses that are in it for the long haul, and we like to stay close
to the ones we write about.
A FEW HONEST THINGS
We keep each category small, so nobody gets lost in a crowd.
That does mean we cannot say yes to everyone at once. Often it is โnot this seasonโ rather than โno,โ and we will always tell
you which one it is. And we would rather be straightforward about money than coy: members do pay, and that is what
covers the photography, the writing, the printing and getting the book into peopleโs hands. What it does not cover is our
enthusiasm โ we only ever invite places we already love, and if we are not the right fit for you yet, we will say so kindly and
still send people your way.
We would rather do ten stories
beautifully than fifty in a hurry.
WHICH IS THE ONLY REASON THE LIST STAYS SMALL
WHAT COMES WITH IT
Four things, and they are all yours.
THE STORY
We write it, shoot it, and fuss over it.
A full feature in our voice โ yes, the people who work with you, and the people who keep coming back. It lives in The Index and on your county page for good.
THE CONVERSATION
A proper sit-down, on the record.
Depending on the tier: a full podcast episode, or a short Meet the Owner film we shoot in a single afternoon.
THE PRINTED EDITION
Your page in The Capital Edit.
Our annual book, distributed across Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia, and kept on coffee tables long after a post has scrolled away.
EVERYTHING WE MAKE
All of it is yours.
The photographs, the film, the quotes, the badge. Put them on your site, in your window, anywhere you like. No permission needed and no expiry date.
HOW IT STARTS
A conversation,
not a pitch.
Every partnership begins the same way. One of us comes to you, sits down for half an hour, and asks how all of this started. No deck, no rate card on the table, and nothing to decide on the day.
If it feels right, we will show you exactly what your story would look like and what membership costs. If the timing is not right, we will tell you that just as plainly โ and we will still be sending people through your door.
COME SAY HELLO
We would love to meet you.
Tell us who you are and where you are. If we have not been in yet, we will come
and see you first โ that part is always free, and there is no obligation on either
side.