May 5, 2006
Irish Tavern Finally Set to Open
With the news of Be Bar's ability to open in Shaw looking up, we've got word that another long-standing controversy surrounding a new bar in the U street area is finally at an end.
Yes, Duffy's Irish Restaurant, located directly across the street from 9:30 Club, has announced it will officially open to the public on May 12. Owner Andrew Duffy has been trying to gain permission to open his new establishment since the summer of 2005, when ANC 1B and a group of local residents stepped in to protest his liquor license.
The main issue Duffy faced, however, had nothing to do with sexual orientation or church politics. Instead, Duffy had acquired a piece of real estate that should probably never have been zoned for commercial use in the first place — it's located directly in-between two residential homes, both of which are occupied by people who have lived in the neighborhood for a long time and who weren't too excited to have a tavern opening up literally right next door. If the ANC and other community meetings that followed were any indication, tense feelings related to the area's rapid gentrification (an Irish Pub in Shaw?) only added fuel to the fire.
Of course, none of this was the fault of any individual involved in the controversy — you can hardly blame the residents for being resistant to the idea, and you can hardly blame Andrew Duffy, who acquired some property in good faith that he had every right to turn into a business. But negotiations over a voluntary agreement quickly turned from reasonable to heated, and the ABC Board put off voting endlessly while the parties tried to work out their differences.
It's all over now though, as Duffy was given the go ahead to complete construction a few weeks back, and the official opening date is now set. But a word to 9:30 Club patrons as you head on over to check out the place this month: Think about keeping the noise down when entering and exiting. Good behavior will probably save everyone involved a lot of trouble.
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I always wondered why property was either commercial or not- why there is no intermediate category. Good for Duffy's that they can open, but if I were one of the adjoining property owners, I'd be thinking of asking BZA to rezoning my own property. What is Duffy's: a DR, CR, or CT?
Yeah, those neighbors who complained sat and watched as he repaired and restored his property, but didn't start complaining until his liquor license hearings? Too bad. That neat little photo doesn't tell much about the rest of the block. I wonder how much complaining goes on about the black owners of the gas station a few doors up; perhaps those neighbors preferred the company of drunken, pissing homeless people congregating in the doorways every night, the crack house down on the corner, and the drug dealers hiding guns under parked cars when police drive by...racists come in every color. Good luck, Andrew. I'll drop by since I walk past there a couple times a week.
Wasn't Shaw originally populated by Irish and blacks? If this is in fact the case, why would an Irish bar in Shaw be so surprising? The other thing I don't understand is the neighbors' argument. Have they never been to Europe? There are plenty of taverns/bars/restaurants that border homes there and they seem to work out just fine. Sounds to me like another futile attempt by some to stump the tiding up of the neighborhood. God forbid there be any “true” diversity in Shaw!
Black people being racist or predujice? Never! It just can't happen.
I think we're overlooking the real reason to object to this establishment: it's another f'ing irish pub. I think in the interests of diversity, we need to clamp down on the proliferation of Irish pubs, lest DC turn into Clarendon Blvd., where there are roughly 10,000 Irish pubs between Courthouse and Ballston.
Less Irish pubs, more Russian drinking holes, Japanese Saki dives, and German beer halls!
Reid...being a cranky irishman...that was hilarious. Good for Duffy's...we (those awful gentrifiers) have won two very hard fought battles in the last week...maybe this is the turning point.
Mari over at inShaw talks about million dollar condos...man it is starting to feel like Logan over here.
are there any good sake bars in dc? there's this amazing basement place on E. 7th in the east village...
This town could sure use a big ol' German beer hall, complete with a huge outdoor biergarten. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single place inside the District where you can buy your bier by the litre, in a massive stein.
Beer by the liter...
Some german place over by the Grog and Tankard once had that. Also the place by 2 Quail.
I'm really half-kidding. Good Irish pubs are all well and good. What I object to is the attachment of Irish to an ordinary bar (e.g. McFadden's, Whitlows, etc.) as if that magically made it more fun. Also, it's funny to see them just go way overboard, like Fado. What is authentic about having a stone well in the middle of a pub? How many actual Irish pubs have one? That's EPCOT-Center-authentic.
Cafe Mozart
1331 H Street NW
Buy as many liters of Bitburger and Weihenstephan as you like. Great suasage platters too. I believe Gordon Biersch does steins for Octoberfest too.
Thanks for the tip about Mozart Cafe. I guess what I'm really looking for is a full-on German bar, rather than a restaurant.
Although its beer selection is quite varied, Saloon on U Street has an excellent German beer selection.
The real question is: how long before Duffy's pulls a Saint Ex and starts selling $22 organic cruelty-free North Atlantic tofu dishes and overpriced Belgian ales?
My problem with the chain Irish places (Fado, Sine) is not their Disney-fied take on Irish culture, it's that they're heavily subsidized by Guinness, and have exclusive agreements to sell the stuff. (Ever been to an Irish pub in America that DIDN'T have Guinness?) Kinda like how certain fastfood chains only sell either Coke products OR Pepsi products, but never both, and certainly no independent brands (like RC or Rock Creek). And while I'm loathe to agree with the anti-globalization crowd, in this case, it's resulted in Beamish Stout being pulled from the North American market.
And the German place over by Grog and Tankard is called Old Europe.
Stoney's was a great bar. Not Irish and certainly not a pub, but still was the best drinking whole around Logan. Sad its gone.
I share your concerns about the lack German-style beer gardens in DC. In fact, there are few, if any, outdoor drinking locales that aren't either on a rooftop or the street.
Where can I find a peaceful place to drink a nice cold beer under some trees outside but without choking on exhaust fumes or being compelled to order food?
Outdoor drinking ... Belgian beer, good food, and no exhaust fume. Trouble is you have to drive there.
Bistro Belgique Gourmande
302 Poplar Alley
Occoquan, VA 22125
(703) 494-1180
To the commenter who questioned: "ever been to an irish pub in America that didn't serve guinness?".
The answer is Finn McCool's on 8th Street, SE. They serve Beamish there. No Guinness to be found in the place.
"ever been to an irish pub in America that didn't serve guinness?"
To add to that post...yes...any pub owned by a native of County Cork. They only serve Murphy's (and on rare occasion Beamish)...some weird regional rivalry that my parents (both Irish) will not explain.
Finn Mac Cool's won't be serving Beamish for much longer since, as noted, it will no longer be distributed in the US.
Cafe Berlin is the German place next to Two Quail on Mass Ave, NE. They have a nice outdoor patio (so wide that you don't even notice the cars on the street); one of my favorite places for a liter of beer on a nice day.