Shuttered D.C. Restaurant Is Reviled, Recalled Fondly: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — An eatery popular with students at George Washington University has closed its doors forever. Washingtonian magazine on Wednesday published an obituary to a place that would never win praise from restaurant critics.

The TGI Fridays in Foggy Bottom was known for "the heaping piles of dishes all over the place, the apparent utensils shortage plaguing its kitchen, and the crumbs that littered its counters," the magazine noted.

But the only TGI Fridays in the District had its charms, the Washingtonian concedes. It "was notoriously lax" in checking IDs, thereby attracting underage GWU students looking to sample their first alcoholic beverage.

At its former home at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, two blocks from Washington Circle, the signs have been taken down and the windows have been taped over.

Several GWU grads, however, recalled the Foggy Bottom eatery as "one of the few spots in the neighborhood for cheap, easy food and drinks," the magazine says.

A Dallas-based restaurant chain, TGI Fridays is a big player in the fast-casual market, with locations throughout Maryland, Virginia and across the country. TGI Fridays has a restaurant in Tysons Corner, Va., two in Montgomery County, Md., and four in Prince George's County, Md.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to the D.C. Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)

Image: Patch/Renee Schiavone