Seven bars in the area of D.C.’s 14th and U streets will close “for the foreseeable future” on Halloween. They are American Ice Company, The Brixton, Echo Park, El Rey, The Gibson, Marvin and Players Club.
Eric and Ian Hilton, the brothers behind the restaurants, said they fought for six months to keep the businesses running through the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington City Paper first reported the closures.
“Today, my brother and I are saddened to announce our decision to close the majority of our hospitality entities in D.C. after service on Saturday, October 31st for the foreseeable future,” read a statement from H2 Collective, the company behind the restaurants.
The brothers said they restructured operations to comply with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s orders in response to the pandemic, but “we have depleted our resources while fighting a great yet unsustainable battle to save the jobs of our employees and our businesses.”
D.C. is currently in Phase Two of its reopening plan. Under Phase Two, service in restaurants is limited to outdoors and indoor service up to 50% capacity to seated customers only. Bar areas, where a bartender is present, remain closed to patrons for seating and standing.
“Day after day, we and our staff are operating at a loss, under duress, and with little relief in sight,” the Hilton brothers said in the statement.
Below are the locations of the bars that are affected.
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