Food

Over 200 DC Bars, Restaurants, and Clubs Can Serve Booze Until 4 AM for Memorial Day Weekend

The District's "Extended Holiday Hours" program means your late-night plans just got later.

Tico, one of the many 14th and U Street corridor spots eligible to stay open until 4 AM. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Night owls, Memorial Day weekend is calling. Over 200 DC bars, restaurants, and nightclubs are able to stay open and serve alcohol until 4 AM this Memorial Day weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights—courtesy of the District’s Extended Holiday Hours program. The initiative grants similar late-night hours on holidays like “Drinksgiving” (a.k.a. Thanksgiving eve) and for major sporting events. 

The list of establishments prepared to go all-out is long and varied. Major dance venues like Echostage are joined by boutique clubs like Heist in Dupont Circle and Flash in Shaw. Popular neighborhood bars and cocktail haunts are strongly represented, such as Service Bar on U Street, Little Miss Whiskey’s on H Street, Northeast, and Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown. There are also a handful of restaurants—a 3 AM Le Diplomate burger sounds pretty good, as does an Ethiopian feast at Duke—and places we never think of for after-hours fun (hey hey, Hard Rock Cafe).  And, of course, strip clubs. 

An important thing to note: all of the businesses registered for extended hours can stay open extra-late, but not all actually will. That’s always been the case since the program launched over five years ago, but may be especially true now. The pandemic and its many disruptions have put a damper on DC’s late-night scene, as many businesses have curtailed hours due to labor shortages, operational costs, Metro irregularities, and changes in customer habits (we definitely got used to those earlier pandemic drinks and dinners). But! With over 215 venues on ABRA’s Extended Hours list, you’re likely to find a responsible 3:45 AM vodka-soda somewhere. 

Find the full list of registered businesses here.  

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.