As Prince of Petworth first reported earlier this month, Adams Morgan stalwart Toledo Lounge has been closed for the past few weeks, its windows covered in paper. According to the lounge’s website, owners closed to “tweak this and that, plus make a few adjustments to the space that will appeal to the increasingly upscale patrons who descend on the neighborhood.”
The change may be more dramatic than that. When we reached owner Amy Bowman—who also owns the Black Squirrel down the street—today, she said a new concept will debut in the space in about six weeks, though, she cautions, “you know how these things go.” Bowman said she’s keeping details about the new restaurant under wraps until all the kinks are ironed out, but confirms what her neighbors gossiped to the PoP—the restaurant will no longer be named Toledo Lounge and both greasy spoon menu and divey decor will be replaced with something decidedly more upscale. “We’re going to put the old lady to rest,” she told us.
Bowman, along with partners Scott Auslander and Thomas Knott, acquired and refurbished the 18-year-old bar in early 2011 but kept the original Ohio-dive-bar theme largely intact. Check back here for details.
