Arlington's Dr. Dremo's Enters Its Final Days

Map It:  Court House 

FANS OF DR. DREMO'S TAP HOUSE have known since 2005 that their favorite dive bar's days were numbered. But up until last year, it was unclear just how much time regulars had left to hang out at the unpretentious watering hole, housed in an old car dealership wedged between Wilson and Clarendon boulevards down the hill from Arlington County's Courthouse area. Now, it's just a few more days before Dremo's is shut down for good — to eventually make way for a new residential and retail development.

The bar's final night is set for Sunday; an auction is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m., during which everything, including the trademark totem pole, will be sold off. Of course, you can't auction off all the memories from Dremo's, which opened in 2000 after the site served a seven-year stint as Bardo Rodeo and Ningaloo. Dremo's owners hope to reopen in the vicinity, but the future is unclear.

The charms and quirks of the place might best be summed up by Mike Miller of Arlington, who wrote about it for The Post's Sunday Source in 2006:

The cigarette smoke is thick, the writing on the men's bathroom wall is entertaining, the music favors '80s punk but is not so loud as to inhibit conversation, and the bartenders are heavily tattooed, beer-knowledgeable and friendly: They've changed the channel on the TV above the bar to let us watch "The Simpsons." Great beer, nice people. Look for the totem pole outside.

But that will soon be gone. Walking past Dr. Dremo's on Thursday — it's just down the street from Express' Arlington newsroom — we spotted the signs of change: a fence has gone up around the adjoining building that will also be torn down for Elm Street Development's planned 2000 Wilson Boulevard building, which will host 140 upscale apartments and boast "spectacular views of the Washington Monument and Washington Cathedral from its rooftop pool and garden," according to the developer's Web site.

Spectacular views of the D.C. skyline? Regulars at Dr. Dremo's would rather have the gritty, worn-down lower-level outdoor patio, which used to be packed during the summer. Now, as you can see here, it all seems pretty lonely.

» "Arlington Nightlife Fixture Dr. Dremo's Says Goodbye" [Washingtonian]

EARLIER:
» "Local Bars With Grit and Personality on Tap" [WaPo]
» "Dremo's No More?" [DCist]

Photos by Michael Grass/Express

Posted By Michael Grass at 8:14 AM on January 25, 2008 Tagged in Arlington County , Arts & Events , Court House , Free Ride , Out & About , Pick Your Poison , Top Stories , Virginia

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