Restaurateur Jacqueline Rodier, 79

Jacqueline Rodier, 79, whose French restaurants attracted famous and discerning diners in downtown Washington for 35 years, died of complications from liver and kidney disease Nov. 15 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She was an Alexandria resident.

Her establishments, named Jacqueline's and Auberge Jacqueline, were dubbed "Gallic gastronomical" landmarks by Washington Post reviewers. Situated at the core of the city's government, financial and business sectors, the restaurants served diplomats, senators, labor leaders and lovers of fine cuisine.

"As authentically French as its Parisian proprietress, Jacqueline Rodier," wrote reviewer Donald Dresden in 1974. "Were the place in France it would rate good marks in the Guide Michelin."

Her menus were typically French, and critics raved over the seafood and lamb dishes. The decor was Parisian, with walls covered in prints of street scenes from the City of Light. As for the owner: "Charming and decorative, she is constantly on the job and no detail escapes her -- I've even seen her sweep the sidewalk terrace in front of her place," Dresden wrote.

Mrs. Rodier was born in Paris and grew up in an exclusive suburb. During World War II, German guards occupied the second floor of her family's home, which was adjacent to another large home that became the German headquarters. As a young, beautiful blonde, she escaped the Germans' scrutiny even as she worked as a messenger for the French Resistance, rolling up coded messages and sliding them into the hollow tubes of her bicycle's handlebars.

She married a U.S. Army officer, Richter Rodier, and immigrated to the United States, where she settled in Northern Virginia in 1953. She worked as a waitress and then a manager at several French restaurants and even operated a cabaret for one employer. In 1966, she opened her own 54-seat bistro, Jacqueline's, at 1921 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

It was a success, and after eight years she took over a larger space at 1990 M St. NW. She overhauled the premises, turning it from "weeds to roses," reviewers said, and opened the 225-seat Auberge Jacqueline in 1974.

Mrs. Rodier imported heretofore unknown wines and spirits from Europe and hired many chefs who later became regionally famous for their own restaurants. As strong-willed in the kitchen as she was gracious in the dining room, Mrs. Rodier insisted on top-quality foods and was quick to fire employees who did not live up to her standards for quality or deportment. The result of that fierce attention to detail was success.

"They would stand four or five deep at her bar; it was crowded all the time," said her longtime friend Henry Greenwald. The restaurateur served 300 to 400 tables for lunch, then braced for the dinner rush.

"She had these corporate accounts, and every one had their own special table," Greenwald said. "The tables each had telephones, and these businessmen would stay all afternoon, doing business. She had to try to get them out for the dinner service, so she ordered porters to start vacuuming. Those men were so intent, they'd just lift their feet for the vacuum and go on working. It was terrible; she couldn't get them out of there."

The restaurant also became a gathering spot for amateur gastronomes and oenophiles. The Chaine des Rotisseurs, of which she was a local officer, awarded her its rarely given Silver Star for outstanding contributions to gastronomy.

In the early 1990s, "the food police started their crusade, and a lot of French restaurants went into decline," Greenwald said. "She decided to sell and retire."

Her marriage ended in divorce. A son, Lawrence Rodier, died in 1971.

Survivors include a son, Richter Rodier of Alexandria; and a sister, Monique Brooks of Springfield.