Political Patties, DC bar that faced online outrage, shutting down
FOX 5 EXCLUSIVE - A bar on U Street in Washington, D.C. is closing its doors less than three months after opening, and in an exclusive interview with FOX 5, the couple behind it blames online outrage as a driving factor.
Political Pattie's on 9th and U St. was only open 75 days. On Wednesday, they shut down for good.
Owners Sydney Bradford and Andrew Benbow told FOX 5 they have no regrets about the whirlwind experience, but say it just wasn't the right time or the right place for the concept and internet hate didn't help.
The bar was supposed to be a nonpartisan place for people to share ideas and drinks in the heart of a very political city. But after initial backlash right when they opened, the couple who started it — a Democrat and a moderate Republican — say the experiment is over.
"We feel really strong and confident in the fact that bipartisanship should exist and there should be thought spaces like Political Pattie's all over the country but this just isn't the right time or place for that concept," Bradford said.
The couple opened Political Pattie's on Sept. 20, just nine days after receiving the keys. The spot used to be a popular gay bar called The Dirty Goose.
Political Pattie's tagline said wanted to put the 'lit' back in politics, even likening it to a sports bar for politics.
But just days after that opening, the place spurred thousands and thousands of online comments, jokes, and outrage. As FOX 5 reported, it was initially because their logo had a GOP elephant alongside a Democrat donkey.
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They painted over that and changed things but it never really seemed to recover.
"I think two months was enough time for us to really get a good understanding of what we were up against," Bradford said.
"It's been a tough go," Benbow said. "We realize that the concept — and not just our bar concept but the concept of bipartisanship, the concept of reaching across to someone you may disagree with — we're not quite ready to do it. Not here in D.C., not across the country."
Still, Benbow said he has no regrets. Rather, he would have regretted if they hadn't tried it out.
"We were no regular bar, this is no regular bar. There were tens of thousands of comments about Political Patties' before anyone even knew the name Political Pattie's. From that first stroke of paint went on the building, there was a flood of comments," Benbow said.
When asked about the possibility of revamping and reopening, Benbow said "We believe in our concept, we love our concept, so of course the bar didn't work out but the concept of Political Pattie's, the spirit of Political Pattie's still lives. We are not interested at this point in having a bar under a different concept."
The couple said they are announcing what will happen to that space and the management of it 24 hours from now on their Instagram page.
According to D.C. planning and economic development data, there are currently 183 active businesses along the U Street Main Street corridor with a vacancy rate of 7 percent, translating to roughly 13 available spaces.
Bradford and Benbow also said roofing issues at the bar that forced them to close, along with recent deaths in both their families, played a role in their decision.
The pair are attorneys and plan to return to law.