This is Eater’s guide to all the D.C. restaurants, bars, and cafes closing this spring. If a restaurant or bar has closed in your neighborhood, let us know at dc@eater.com.
Spotlight closure
Ashburn, Virginia: The NFL Washington Commanders no longer have a namesake bar inside Dulles International Airport (IAD). The Commanders Burgundy & Gold Club, which opened in 2017 under the hometown football team’s original name at the time, suddenly closed at some point this spring and disappeared from Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s concessions directory. Named USA Today’s No. 3 Best Sit-Down Airport Restaurant last year, odes to DMV game-day grub – from Old Bay-doused chicken wings to the Hoggs pit barbecue sandwich – as well as Hail to the Rita cocktails and locally
made brews, were served in a square-shaped setting that opened as early as 5 a.m. and was decked out in sports memorabilia and art honoring the Super Bowl-winning franchise – lots of Sonny Jorgensen swag included. 1 Saarinen Circle, Dulles, Virginia (Concourse B, near gate B73)
And the rest…
Arlington, Virginia: Pike Cornerstone, a homey hangout for pub grub and a dog-friendly patio since 2024, closed on Saturday, May 9, per ARLNow. The former home to Rebellion on the Pike came from the co-owners of nearby Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse, who blamed the “misplanned construction [on Columbia Pike] and all the government shutdowns” for the closure, adding, “This isn’t goodbye, this is see you later.” 2900 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Virginia
Ballston, Virginia: Whino Restaurant and Bar, an all-in-one restaurant, bar, and art gallery inside Ballston Quarter since 2021, closed on Saturday, May 2. “My hat goes [off] to all the people who have restaurants, and had them for a while,” owner Shane Pomajambo, an art collector behind Art Whino and Blind Whino, told ArlNOW. “It’s very, very hard, very low margins, and you have to be at the right spot to get the right foot traffic … to really make it.” The 6,200-square-foot setup featured a large-scale collection of rotating murals focused on “low-brow and pop surrealist” works. 4238 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia
Bethesda, Maryland: After 50 years of slinging specialty health foods, bulk grains, nuts, and candies in dispensers to the community, the Bethesda Co-Op will close permanently on Sunday, May 31, per Bethesda Magazine. MacArthur Plaza is also home to restaurants like Fish Taco and Sal’s Italian Kitchen. 6500 Seven Locks Road, Cabin John, Maryland
Chinatown: Six years after introducing Chinatown to wafu (Japanese-style) Italian cuisine, Tonari closed on Sunday, May 3. Chef-partner Katsuya Fukushima’s buzzy two-floor restaurant with a spacious downstairs bar opened weeks before the pandemic started, going on to gain a devoted following (and spot on our Eater 38 list) for its Japanese spin on Italian pasta dishes and Detroit-style pizza. The Daikaya Group, which includes next-door ramen flagship Daikaya and upstairs izakaya, as well as chicken-centric Bantam King nearby, remains “committed to Chinatown” and “optimistic about its future,” per a press release. 707 6th Street NW
Clarendon, Virginia: Citing soaring rent and labor costs, the gamers’ paradise and brewery Board Room suddenly closed right before May after eight years of business, owner Mark Handwerger told ARLnow. The local bar vet says a lease termination notice came at an inopportune time: “We had a number of parties on the books, engagement parties, graduation parties — things that are very hard for people to find another location for.” 925 N. Garfield Street, Arlington, Virginia
Falls Church, Virginia: One of the three Original Pancake House locations in the DMV closed this week, with an auction to sell off its assets ending on Wednesday, May 27. Two other area locales remain in Maryland (Rockville and Bethesda). The daytime cafe was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1953, and the third-generation family business maintains over 100 restaurants from coast to coast, per its website. 7395 Lee Highway, Falls Church, Virginia
Frederick, Maryland: Fast-casual burger chain Red Robin closed inside Francis Scott Key Mall on Sunday, May 24, after 15 years, a rep tells the MoCoShow. 5582 Spectrum Drive, Frederick, Maryland
H Street: Hell’s Kitchen winner Rock Harper will relocate his ambitious phone-free cocktail bar, Hush Harbor, this summer after closing its short-lived standalone location on H Street this month. Hush Harbor’s new home will sit inside the Union Market’s salon/retail store/restaurant/speakeasy Manifest. “Its expansion is emblematic of the founder’s vision that Hush Harbor can exist beyond any one physical space,” a Hush Harbor spokesperson tells DCNewsNow. 1337 H Street NE
Logan Circle: Da Hong Pao, the dim sum palace with hundreds of dishes on offer like roast pork buns, lo mein, pulled noodles, and steamed spare ribs, closed on Sunday, May 3 after a 10-year run. Owner Jerry Chen, in the Logan Circle neighborhood since 1988, also owns Yum’s II carryout next door. Da Hong went on hiatus during the pandemic but made a comeback in 2022. A Bank of America branch is reportedly taking its place. 1409 14th Street NW
Noma: Chopsmith, a D.C. chain for packaged meals and kitchen essentials, shut down its Noma address, per signage on the door flagged by Popville on Monday, May 18, noting its sole other storefront at the Wharf remains open. 300 M Street NE
