Arlington Nightlife Fixture Dr. Dremo’s Says Goodbye

This weekend is the end of an era for Arlington bar Dr. Dremo's. Read on for where they might be next, how you can get your own Dremo's memento (one word: auction) and much more.

By Jasmine Touton

After 15 years of service, Dr. Dremo's Tap House will shut its doors this Sunday.

Fans of Arlington favorite Dr. Dremo’s Tap House converged to sip their final Dremo’s Redneck Ales and shake hands with friends on the bar’s second-to-last Sunday night in its current Clarendon Boulevard location.

“There’s a much larger crowd here than on most Sunday nights,” said Greg Kitsock, a Washington Post beer columnist, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Brewing News, and once-a-week Dremo’s regular. “It’s kind of the end of an era.”

Dremo’s will shut its doors Sunday, January 27, at 2 AM after 26 consecutive nights of “Dremo’s Huge Ass Farewell Party” and almost 15 years of service since it opened in 1993 as Bardo Rodeo and Ningaloo. The Dr. Dremo’s and neighboring Taco Bell properties were recently sold to Elm Street Development, which plans to build 140 apartments on the lot along with ground-floor retail.

Dremo’s manager, Bill Stewart, sat perched atop a bar stool cheering along with the crowd watching the New England Patriots/Green Bay Packers game. Stewart is the 75-year-old father of Billy Stewart, who opened the bar in the basement of a former car dealership.

“In 2000, he dumped the place on me because he got fed up with it,” Stewart said of his son. He added that the bar is bringing in some local bands for the closing party but is not offering much else besides its regular, seven-nights-a-week happy hour.

As for a new home, Stewart said, “It’s strictly up in the air.” Wherever the taproom reopens, Stewart’s son Andrew will run it, and Stewart will step down but continue to help with financing.

Among several Arlington sites Stewart is looking at is the vacant Hollywood Video nearby, but he hasn’t heard back about whether he’ll be able to rent the property. And while his son Andrew’s version of Dremo’s will have the same feel as the old, most of the taproom’s current equipment won’t be there.

The bar will reopen briefly for an auction January 28 at 7 PM to dole out pool tables, kitchen equipment, 200-gallon stainless-steel beer tanks, and even the bar’s prized totem pole to the highest bidders. Stewart said the copper-topped tables, which he made and never got paid for, are among the few things that will carry over to the new location.

Kitsock, who said he recognized a dozen people in the room as regulars, had frequented the bar since it opened and remembered coming to enjoy the perfect view of Fourth of July fireworks that it offered.

Stewart said he’ll miss the customers and staff when he leaves, but he’s not sad to go: “I’ve been looking forward to closing this place. I’ll be getting a rest, ya know?”

Category Tags: Nightlife, Interviews, Belly Up

Comments

Good call, Chris. Let it go people and get a life. It’s just a bar.

Posted by: Ripley, Oct 13, 2010 03:28:46 PM

...sucks that the lot has just sat there with nothing for the past two years.

Posted by: asdf, Jul 08, 2010 09:47:11 AM

I was old school Arlington. I miss StrangeWays and Bardo Rodeo. Clicking around Google Street View, most of Wilson blvd. interest has been erased by condos. I spent my first afternoon in Arlington sitting in my car in the Taco Bell parking lot waiting for my girlfriend to show me where our new apartment was going to be. I ate like three orders of Nachos Bell Grande while it rained outside.

Bye old friends.

Posted by: seth, Jun 04, 2009 08:51:32 PM

Great bar. Used to lurk about when was working as an ex-pat Brit and living in Clarendon. Helped me get over homesickness anyhow, some good nights, great atmosphere. Sad to see it go, was just googling it to see what happened to the place.

Posted by: Sean, Feb 04, 2009 06:15:14 AM

Dremo’s always was the best happy hour and beer prices around.

Posted by: Willy, Feb 04, 2008 09:01:34 AM

Despite the promise of a closing night party, the final night was a big disappointment. Not only did they abolish Happy Hour for the night, they had the nerve to charge a $10 cover charge (aka "a relocation charge"). A class place would have done something to thank their loyal customers over the years, not gouge them one last time. As a customer since the Bardo Rodeo days, I was very disappointed.

Posted by: Peter, Feb 01, 2008 04:48:11 AM

I’m sad to see it go and hope they re-open soon. It was the only place to go in all of arlington that actually had GOOD beers on tap (read: not bud light).

Posted by: me, Jan 30, 2008 07:26:05 AM

Good riddance? Are you psyched that we’re losing the best bar in Arlington so we can "gain" another half-vacant condo building with a Starbuck’s in the lobby?

Posted by: Another Chris, Jan 25, 2008 06:59:16 AM

Chris - you are a douche bag. Arlington does not need more high end apts and condos. Dremo’s wasn’t for everyone but at least it had character, something I’m sure won’t be replaced.

Posted by: Jeremy, Jan 25, 2008 06:08:38 AM

More apartments that no one can afford!!
I can’t wait for the traffic jams and all the noise from the new construction!! When i want some food at 2 in the morning i won’t be able to go to Taco Bell anymore, awesome!!
And no where to park at all when those 140 apartments are done!! Great i can’t wait!!

Posted by: Tony, Jan 24, 2008 03:50:21 PM

you sissy

Posted by: chris is a sissy, Jan 24, 2008 01:59:15 PM

I too did love Dr. Dremo’s as my own brother. Let us not mourn for him, but be merry and gay, for those who would close my bar are all honorable men.....

Posted by: Patrick, Jan 24, 2008 01:38:03 PM

So sad to see Dremo’s closing - there are fewer and fewer places in the area with real personality. I’ve spent more fun nights at Dremo’s than I can count. Where will I have my birthday party now?

Posted by: Molly, Jan 24, 2008 12:44:42 PM

Good riddance.

Posted by: Chris, Jan 24, 2008 09:16:45 AM