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Clarendon sports bar Mister Days will call it quits next week, potentially ending a run of more than 40 years in venues across D.C. and Arlington. But the location that was a staple for trivia night and beer will soon be revived by a chef from another nearby nightlife fixture.
ARLNow reports that chef Patrick Crump of Clarendon Grill, which closed last fall after 22 years, subleased the space (3100 Clarendon Boulevard) and will open a new restaurant inside called the Grill on Highland by the summer. Crump just acquired furniture, fixtures, and equipment in a Thursday sale. Eater has reached out to Crump for more comment about his plans for the site.
A closing date for Mister Days is scheduled for Friday, April 12, and finale festivities are expected to be posted on its website tomorrow. The closure is the latest in a string of deaths across Arlington’s old guard bar scene — including Ballston’s Front Page and Carpool — as newer developments roll in.
Mister Days, which turned 40 in 2017, announced its pending demise via Twitter on Thursday:
— Mister Days (@MisterDays) April 4, 2019
The bar has a storied past, having first opened as a modest pub in a Dupont Circle alleyway in 1977. It then migrated to Georgetown before ultimately landing in its current home in Arlington in the early 2000s.
Mister Days owner Owner Robert E. Lee tells ARLnow that big names like Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Washington Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen have graced the space over its run.
Lee — who’s almost 80 — tells the publication the closure stems from health issues and not rent woes. He’s keeping the Mister Days brand name in case he opts to sell it or open another location.
Meanwhile, another Arlington sports bar is in switcheroo status. Prolific bar owner Scott Parker tells Eater that the replacement for A-Town Bar and Grill, a German beer hall called Bronson, is expected to open in July.
