If it seems as though the saga surrounding the fate of Arlington pool hall and taphouse Dr. Dremo’s has been dragging out for years, it’s probably because it has. From a concentrated effort by Arlington County to shut the bar down due to (admittedly) leaky roofs, to the ongoing efforts by Elm Street Development to get the County to approve the sale of the site (along with next-door Taco Bell) for condominiums, Dremo’s has been the little dive bar that could, improbably surviving long after most business owners would have thrown up their hands and boarded up the windows.
But David can only stand up to Goliath for so long, though, especially when Goliath comes in the form of yet another high rise condo building in the Wilson/Clarendon corridor. The sale of the property finally has been approved, and all that remains is for Elm Street to get their construction permits and Dremo’s will be closed for good. Before you rush over to start crying into your Delirium Tremens, there are two silver linings to report. One is that building permits take an awfully long time to acquire. The bar is reporting that it will take at least until February of 2008 to complete this process, so you’ve got a good solid year of cheap pool ahead of you before last call. The other is that Dr. Dremo’s has no intention of going down with that final 8-ball. A search is underway for a new space, so if you know of a suitable building in the area that’s not on the verge of being demolished for overpriced apartment homes, by all means let them know.
For our part, we hope Dremo’s is successful in finding new digs. Pool purists like to grouse about the quality of their tables, but atmosphere, value, and quirk have always trumped all other considerations there, to the overall benefit. Whether it was the little canal that once ran around the bar carrying little plastic boats on an endless loop, or the Washington Psychotronic Film Society playing some mondo LSD trip of a film in the background while you shot pool downstairs, atmosphere has always been the draw of Dr. Dremo’s, and there really is no other place quite like it in the area. Back in the days when a heavy rain consistently resulted in a dozen buckets and trash cans distributed strategically throughout the upper floor, even that had a damp, but homey charm to it. People commented on it, but rarely complained. Those who did whine about it were immediately identified as outsiders to the bar’s large crew of regulars.
Over the years, they have played host to an eclectic mix of regular and special events, from swing dancing to open mic comedy and music nights, and their more famous features like the Night of 1000 Elvises to the already dearly departed Beer Pong. For a time, they were even hosting a goth dance night, which usually seemed to entail about a half dozen folks dressed in black huddled around a portable DJ booth in the corner of the basement listening to old Bauhaus and Cure records. All of this, underpinned by the cheapest pool prices around and a relatively impressive beer list for a small neighborhood dive, has made Dremo’s into sort of a populist’s dream bar, with a little something for everyone.
We wish them well in finding a new home, and in the meantime, we’ll be by for a drink as often as possible.
Photo by Flickr user furcafe.
