During the Tramonte's ownership of the club, Paul Wolff was the front of house engineer. A one-square-mile neighborhood of cobble-stone streets and stately, federal-style homes centered around the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, Georgetown nonetheless boasted more than 115 liquor licenses in an approximately 10-block area. Occasionally on Wednesdays and always on Saturdays, the premier preppy spot was The Third Edition, or Thirds, a casual, wood-paneled restaurant opened in 1969 that in the evenings would become a nightclub full of Georgetown and George Washington students. Before Il Pane, there was a very tasty Italian sandwich shop up on the second floor called Lucianos Cafe. While it may have "grill" in the name, diners won't find much more than Utz potato chips to go with the beer and rail drinks. And then Bistro Francais on M, where everyone would show up at 3am and stay till dawn. The scene was burning so bright, however, that it couldnt possibly last forever. There are a few prerequisites [for entry], wrote WaPo. Upstairs was a deli/market called Il Pane (thats Italian for bread). I try to pick obscure ones, then they'll say, 'Really, what does she look like? (202) 387-8411. People bump into old friends, make new ones. Though Lisa Birnbachs iconic 1980 Official Preppy Handbook was meant to lampoon the aesthetic, it instead galvanized it, and, just like the early-aughts Brooklyn hipster movement, all irony was soon stripped away. Jammed packed, upstairs and down. It was buy 2 cocktails and the 3rd was free (so we just had to) and we would order onion rings,salads,burgers,and mainly light meals,then catch a cab for nights out dancing at The Pier 9. We always sat in the front room and played Barry White,(and Pier songs,) on the jukebox which was located up front at the north window. Dave Was Paramount not one of the early Washington gay enlightened restaurants? Quickly, Williams and McDonalds bashes, based on a Myrtle Beach frat-boy aesthetic they had grown up on in the South, were a sensation, packed with men in blazers and women, according to WaPo, who pronounced daddy as a three-syllable word. But he didnt fall off the face of the earth. By 1980, WaPo was offering a laundry list of the clientele to expect there: Mt. I seem to remember a Mr Henrys on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan as well as all the ones mentioned here. It was the Duke Zeibert's of Dance, the Sans Souci of Sweat. The price is $66 per night. One of D.C.'s ultimate dive bars, The Raven has been tucked away in Mount Pleasant since 1935. The clothing store Wet Seal opened here sometime around 2003. Next door in 1993 there was a branch of Roberto Donnas Il Radiccho brand restaurant. When he wasnt pounding keg beer on the Maryland shore, the future Supreme Court Justice could be found pounding [brew]skis at underage bars and house parties, according to his handwritten notations. Then it was taken over by the famous disco club Tramps, run by Washington Playboy Mike OHarro. It closed two years ago and became El Centro. Prices and visitors' opinions on dishes. In Blues Alley and Charlie's, jazz-lovers sip drinks and converse in muted tones. No one was coming to his restaurant any way, so Chin figured he had nothing to lose. Elmos Fire Now it is an upscale Mexican restaurant called El Centro. Eventually, he went to the Culinary Institute of America and returned to Washington as a chef, creating menus at such places at T. Gregorys (Simplicity does not foreclose imagination, wrote Post critic Phyllis Richman, and T. Gregorys has some original and successful culinary inventions) and Union Street Public House in Alexandria. They go to good colleges or have good jobs.. While Im sad to see eras end, Georgetown is due for another chapter, said Georgetown restaurant broker Bill Miller at the time. It was a refuge for long-haired psychedelic groups as well as oddballs like Sun Country, a local garage act led by a female drummer. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. But it was Clydes that the Official Preppy Handbook would list as their definitive prep bar for the DC area. Its still a lot like a frat party, except now, because of the recent prep craze, you might see a Marine or someone from [the bar] across the street just because its cool to be prep, explained another suffixed partier, Jean-Charles Dibbs III, then a barely-legal Republican political aide. Rhino Bar is the old Winstons, which I agree was a staple for years. And awesome. "Well," she said with a drawl, "We're gay. "Now that's a babe," he said, pointing to a picture of a blond. And it was popular with college kids primarily because you didnt even need a fake ID to get in; it was 18 and over. This bar (known primarily as a gay bar) was famous for being the place where Roberta Flack launched her career. October 7, 1980. In the early days, all gentlemen had to wear a coat and necktie. If you were really classy, you drank Heineken, the green bottle telegraphing your suavity. [My friends] and I were pretty upset about it closing, noted one Georgetown junior in reference to Chadwicks, which shuttered before the new school year of 2014, by now famous for its cheap and unlimited champagne brunches, a preppy mecca until its final days. If by the 1980s New York was going new wave and hip-hop, club kids and cokeheads, in Washington, DC, a melting pot of fledgling lawyers, bankers and politicos still enjoyed dressing up in boat shoes, blue blazers and Brooks Brothers button-downs to hit the town. Bill Scanlan: MTITV, filmmaker of The Bayou: DCs Killer Joint And I'll go down the list and that gets them talking.". A good percentage of the people you see here never even went to prep school.. Mr. Smiths was arguablythe second oldest continuing bar in the Georgetown neighborhood as it was founded in 1962. Williams also was the GM at the Nissan Pavilion. Sometimes we take our pants off and it really bums people out, claimed James Muggy (Mike) Smith, a self-proclaimed filthy rich kid who was wearing a pink-and-green plaid bow tie and pink sweater when he was interviewed in yet another 1982 WaPo article on the scene. In its script, St. Elmos is described as a P.J. There were lines of boat shoes out the door every Friday night. It was the spot to be on Sunday nights. The post Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars appeared first on InsideHook. Thursdays was E.J. Mike will be selling and signing books from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Boss Shepherds, 1229 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Southside 815, 815 S. Washington St., Alexandria; and as part of a dinner special Oct. 29 at Clydes of Georgetown. English . "This is like being at home almost, like your own neighborhood," said Gary Smithwick, a 25-year-old resident of Southeast Washington who said he comes to Georgetown almost every Saturday night. In 2014, The Third Edition became El Centro, an upscale Mexican restaurant. | The Georgetown Metropolitan, ICYMI: When Wootten Met Thompson at Jelleff. said the women. Those were the days.Let me tell you. This site seems to confirm that there was a Mr. Henrys at 1225 Wisconsin Ave.: Meanwhile, music remained a central part of Flacks life outside of the workplace. ORileys Pub, opened in the late-1970s by two Georgetown alums one who owned an old warehouse, the other who simply had a catchy Irish name. All rights reserved. We're happy. Had no regard for my coworkers. 293 views, 6 likes, 4 loves, 2 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Preserving LGBT Sites in Metro DC: The Georgetown Grill, from 1948 to 1977, became a popular gay male hangout, especially. Fourteen years in the making, "The Bayou" is a 90-minute documentary about the legendary Georgetown nightclub, which closed in 1998. Reportedly decked in khakis and polished penny loafers, blond hair and blue eyes, he was a Georgetown junior at the time. Sometimes we take our pants off and it really bums people out, claimed James Muggy (Mike) Smith, a self-proclaimed filthy rich kid who was wearing a pink-and-green plaid bow tie and pink sweater when he was interviewed in yet another 1982 WaPo article on the scene. Todays mixological artisans work like alchemists, decanting potions and grinding tree bark. It was closed in 2015 due to high rent and is now Club Monaco, a clothing store. By fww2. Honestly, I thought it was going to be very preppy [before I moved there] and I had my Lily Pulitzer skirts ready, but no one was really preppy any more, says McGovern, who started at the university in 2013. In 1970, the Homophile Social League met here as well as the Community Church organized by Rev. I was a bouncer at Crazy Horse. It stayed open until a few years ago when Vinyard Vines opened up. If by the 1980s New York was going new wave and hip-hop, club kids and cokeheads, in Washington, DC, a melting pot of fledgling lawyers, bankers and politicos still enjoyed dressing up in boat shoes, blue blazers and Brooks Brothers button-downs to hit the town. Paul Breton, which later became the Metropolitan Community Church of DC. Winstons, Pall Mall, Pierce Street Annex, Numbers, The Bayou, Bojangles, Windsor McKays, Abbey Road and Pattons, Pingback: ANC Signals End to Moratorium But Delays Decision | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Pingback: The Georgetown Metropolitan Forgets its Birthday Again | The Georgetown Metropolitan. J. Pauls would close a few months after that, marking the end of an era, according to Eater. The club, which was a regular stop on East Coast tours by UK bands from the late 1970s on, featured artists including U2 (their second show in the United States), Kiss, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers (performing twice in 1988 which would be their final DC shows with founding members Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons), The Only Ones, Squeeze, Peter Tosh, Basia (1988, her first show in the United States), The Police, Phish, Leftover Salmon, Dave Matthews Band, Blue yster Cult, Lindsey Buckingham, The New Orleans Radiators, Hootie & the Blowfish, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Tom-Tom Club, Acoustic Junction, Steeleye Span, From Good Homes, Foreigner, The Kinks, Todd Rundgren (backed by Utopia on this stop of his 1978 Back to the Bars tour), Yellow Magic Orchestra and other artists that influenced the evolution of rock as well as rhythm and blues from the 1960s through the 1990s. The Washington, DC of the 1980s and '90s was a dramatically different place than the Washington, DC of 2017. Panelists include: Mike Tramonte: The Bayou Bill Scanlan: MTITV, filmmaker of "The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint" Wasnt there a regular Britches a little further up Wisconsin, like around where Polo is now? I bartended, waitered and managed the place from 1975-1980. Not just Georgetown students, those spots were big draws for GW students in the 90s and 2000s (and before, too.) It was kind of like Tuscany in that everyone had to go there at least once.. Passions can run high in the restaurant biz. In 2014, The Third Edition became El Centro, an upscale Mexican restaurant. The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 through January 7, 1982. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He got a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown and a law degree from Catholic University. What about Chinese Disco? As for Richard Hamilton Herrud Houghton III, that original WaPo article is literally the only time his full formal name would ever be mentioned in the annals of American journalism. English . Perspective Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events. Mike Tramonte: The Bayou [3], The club included a balcony level, with tables and chairs, and two standing room only bars. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. It wasnt cool to drink draft beer, Mike said. The current location, near the White House, has been its home since 1983. Friendships often begin in Georgetown bars. Crazy expensive and hard to get into, it set the standard for special-occasion dining in the era when butter and . Georgetown Billiards: GM loved this place. 15.2 mi from city center. Kentucky Explorer. "It's okay for young people in their twenties. Half of Mikes book is recipes, scaled down for household use, and half is behind-the-scenes reminiscences. At others, I shock people. Tales might involve bar hopping, disco dancing, lining up at music clubs, concert crowds or stylish restaurants. There was one at Tenly Circle and the famous Mr. Henrys of Roberta Flack fame is at 601 Pennsylvania Ave SE on Capitol Hill. In 1985, The Third Edition exterior acted as the stand-in for the titular St. Elmos Fire bar in the Joel Schumacher film about recent Georgetown graduates. These kids are very well-behaved," Spaulding said. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/roberta-flack#ixzz1cew9n6YQ. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. The abuse? Fish Tails Bar & Grill. News, advice and insights for the most interesting man in the room. The 1980s were the prime years for Georgetown basketball. Meanwhile, the bars upstairs, outdoor patio was a tiki bar complete with kitschy totems. In 1985, The Third Edition exterior acted as the stand-in for the titular St. Elmos Fire bar in the Joel Schumacher film about recent Georgetown graduates. The Bayou backed up to another famed D.C. music institution, Blues Alley, located down the alley behind the Bayou. This building used to house The Cellar Door, a live music club thatplayed host to famous artists such as Jimmy Buffet, Patti Smith, Carole King and manymore from1965-1981. Co-proprietor Hugh Kelly was relaxing after the kitchen had closed for the night only to be asked if he could cook up a pair of steaks for some late travelers. The food was very good (my wife had a Shrimp Basket, I had a chicken+cheese sandwich basket; the shrimp was very good. Tastes in mixed drinks have changed. Now, its location is filled in with Fine Retailer (whatever that means). Donal was a protege of Roberta Flacks. Peak hours are 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., during which period the D.C. Department of Transportation estimates about 10,000 cars and 6,000 pedestrians travel through the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and. I wonder if Rocky Horror Picture Show is still playing at that little theater across from Henrys? There was a terrific creperie nearby. It was kind of like Tuscany in that everyone had to go there at least once.. For decades, Washington's fancy restaurants were French. Go back further and you add a string of legendary bars from Georgetowns 80s heyday, like Charring Cross, Pall Mall, the Bayou, etc. Before the dawn reclaims the streets, there are myriad human sights and sounds, often in stark contrast. Lets not forget Scandals which was definitely a college bar and the famous Tramps Discotheque both in the same building at corner of Wisconsin and Prospect! Although many Georgetown merchants say this is the worst summer for business they have seen in years, one bartender in a popular nightclub said it can gross $10,000 on a Saturday night. She noted that by now the 100-plus bars in the neighborhood were starting to rankle the older, upper-crust residents with to their boisterous partying. The article Revisiting the 1980s Heyday of Georgetowns Fabled Preppy Bars by Aaron Goldfarb was originally published on InsideHook. Bros in polos and hungry clubbers start the night with massive plates of Irish nachos before climbing the stairs to the hot and heavy dance floor, wrote one review. [4] The sound system mixing console was located on the second floor balcony, overlooking the stage. Beer was king, specifically bottled beer. In Nathan's, where sophisticated young professionals mingle before a backdrop of forest green walls and framed pastel hunting scenes, a lawyer explained his presence simply: "It's loneliness, the human condition. Night falls on Georgetown like a sable cape, lights begin to flicker and suddenly people are everywhere. In the Washington Post, January 7, 1982, there is an account of the unfathomably named Richard Hamilton Herrud Houghton III. (Seven-year plan, he says of his stop-and-start undergraduate career.). (139 reviews) Can't wait to go back. In the 1970s and 1980s, Georgetown had a diverse live music scene, and became known as a center for the early punk community. You can meet a lot of women if you want but I got a girl back home.". C/Luis Garca Berlanga, 19-21, Valencia, Valencia, 46023. We started DCs Fastest Bartender, and Monday night Mike Nardello spinning tunes during No Skin No Win naked dance contest Buddy Jenkins was Mgr. ", The need for human contact draws many to bars in Georgetown. In my now 60 years on earth I never felt more connected to my fellow brothers then during the Sunday afternoon/evening Broadway show tune sing-a-longs with the piano player at the Mr Henrys at 1225 Wisconsin Ave from say 1977 to 1980. Free WiFi. GM was a big fan of Britches back in the day when a Britches Great Outdoors was at his local Connecticut mall. Since then the location has been a sandwich shop but currently remains for rent. For one, its geographic location straddled the line between the prep schools and Ivy League institutions of the northeast, while also having a foot in the South with its fratty gentlemen and sorority belles. View the menu, check prices, find on the map, see photos and ratings. American Cafe was great, a landmark endeavor for Georgetown and the food industry. A note to Jacques: Before Lucianos on the second floor was Blimpies, the original foot long sandwich shop (theres still one up in New Jersey). It is currently a Zara clothing store. Photographer Michael Horsley documented the era with a fascinating series of 537 photos. Mike whipped the plate of half-eaten chop from the table. The action stops only after 2 a.m., when serving liquor is forbidden, and the streets slowly empty as people try to remember where they parked. All Rights Reserved. Third edition was my go to spot from 92-96. John Kelly writes John Kelly's Washington, a daily look at Washington's less-famous side. The owner sold it to a corporation and then it began to slide. From 1977 to 1991, the building at 7th and E Streets NW that currently houses a Starbucks was home to one of the area's. As for Mr. Henrys, there may have been one in Georgetown, but Id go to Mr. Henrys on Capitol Hill, upstairs, to see Roberta Flack. A very civil place six nights a week according to a 1978 Hoya article, the only exception being thirsty Thursdays, when the preppies would invade en masse to Carolina shag a dance descendent of the jitterbug and drop trou, a supposed mating ritual endemic to an era when sexual harassment didnt exist. acid jazz and electronica, following the establishment of a variety of bars and clubs in the area, most notably The Black Cat (which was co-founded by Dave Grohl, another native of the DC punk scene). There are out-of-town families trying to decide where to eat: "But I don't want steak" went the refrain recently outside Dino's Steakhouse. She was discovered there by Henry Yaffe, who brought her to his trendy new Georgetown club Mr. Henrys. Where else can you watch drama, comedy, tragedy and farce for the price of a drink? Richard Harrington: music critic, the Washington Post He taught at Duke Ellington also. Michael OHarro: Tramps and Champions Sign up now for more from the Beltway. Not a fan of Rhino, but its a shame to see rising rents continue to reduce Georgetowns diversity of storefronts. We wear our boxer shorts and some say Oh, my God, who are these guys?. The Death Knell of Georgetown College Bars, ANC Signals End to Moratorium But Delays Decision | The Georgetown Metropolitan, The Georgetown Metropolitan Forgets its Birthday Again | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Ten Years: The Recent Past | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Mayor Proposes End to Tavern License Cap in Georgetown | The Georgetown Metropolitan, Georgetown Looks Set to Double Tavern License Cap, Will it Matter? Winston's is part of the cluster of bars in the 3200 block of M Street, which includes Crazy Horse, Desperados, Beneath It All and Paul Mall. By 1980, WaPo was offering a laundry list of the clientele to expect there: Mt. Georgetown Today, July 1970 The overwhelming majority of the faculty believed that we, right on the doorstep of the national government, just could not conduct business as usual. Admittedly, the quiet Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) is the only real preppy in St. Elmos Fire (described as a sweet-faced, insecure preppy in the script) as Alec Newbury (Judd Nelson) has advanced into more of a mid-1980s yuppie with his slick hair and Gordon Gekko-esque contrast-collar dress shirts. In his day, a good bartender worked fast. For example, did you know that restaurant workers love it when tiny women order big club sandwiches? This week for Not So Long Ago, GM stops by Wisconsin Ave. just above M St. where the Vinyard Vines and Bebe shops now sit. It would become gridlocked with cars as far as the eye can see, according to the New York Times, each and every Saturday night. Mr. Henrys was rollicking, but it was Mr. Henrys on Capitol Hill, Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., where Roberta Flack performed and from which she became a hit. Chidi had been opened as this youthful preppy scene was just beginning to emerge, in 1976. "We're probably the preppiest people in there and we really bum people out," he said, leaning against the wall outside Winston's and looking oh-so-preppy in his pink-and-green plaid bow tie and pink sweater. This location has been a bar since 1952 when it was first the Shamrock. This is the scrappy old lesbian bar Coconuts, converted last year into Waterstone -- a pretty tavern for the under-served western edge of Mount Vernon . Also, Nathan's an elegant Georgetown bar is real big now." But Tramps was more than a disco. Have you wondered where these bars went? If the Ivy League look had been around since the early 20th century, with a true scene emerging by mid-century, it would be mainstreamed into preppy culture by the start of the 1980s. There definitely was a Mr Henrys on Wisconsin avenue in the 80s. Georgetown is a multicultural and international hub now which I think is a positive thing.. Remember in the 1980s, DC wasnt doing well, says Alana McGovern, a Georgetown alum who wrote about the neighborhoods bar scene over the years for a project entitled Booze to Bougie. But if it was, I would suggest that you check out this website to learn more. By the 1990s, Georgetown had, like most of America, entered into a grunge period, with alternative music blasting out of the doors at rock clubs like Poseurs. Brett Kavanaughs infamous hand-scrawled calendar even detailed his goings-on during that crazy summer, when he was a year away from graduating from Georgetown Prep in nearby Bethesda. In 1993, the Vinyard Vines store housed Britches Great Outdoors, a branch of the Georgetown-based Britches chain. She noted that by now the 100-plus bars in the neighborhood were starting to rankle the older, upper-crust residents with to their boisterous partying. 2. By 2002 Bebe had moved in. I personally took comedians Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor to Brits. From bell bottoms to long lost amusement parks we all wish would come back to Ohio, it was certainly a unique time to live in the Buckeye State. Marines, who invade Georgetown on Saturday nights, also frequent Annie Oakley's, with its mirrored dance floor and patrons in cowboy hats. I thought Georgetown was a pioneering neighborhood in that regard. The American Caf was next door down the street. [7], The Bayou was known for hosting benefits, including one for Toni Wilson, a singer who would frequent the club with her family. Mr. Henrys Georgetown catered to a gay crowd but never declared itself as such because of its dependence on the tourist crowd in Georgetown. One of the premier music spots in Washington, D.C., the small club served as the genesis for entertainers and as a tryout venue for larger markets.