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Clyde's Restaurant Group

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"Clyde's" redirects here. For the play by Lynn Nottage, see Clyde's (play).
Clyde's Restaurant Group
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedAugust 12, 1963; 61 years ago (1963-08-12) in Georgetown, Washington D.C., United States
Founders
Number of locations
13
Area served
Washington D.C., United States
Key people
ParentGraham Holdings
Websitewww.clydes.com

Clyde's Restaurant Group is an American company that owns and operates 13 restaurants in the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1963 to take advantage of a change in Washington, D.C.'s liquor laws, it pioneered a number of changes in the way restaurants in the district operated. In 1970, it purchased the oldest restaurant in the district, Old Ebbitt Grill. The company has since expanded its namesake "Clyde's" restaurant into a small chain, as well as opened and purchased other restaurants. In 2019, the company was acquired by Graham Holdings.

History

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On August 12, 1963, investment banker Stuart C. Davidson opened Clyde's of Georgetown. For many decades, hard liquor could be served in the District of Columbia only to patrons seated at tables. President John F. Kennedy signed legislation in May 1962 allowing liquor to be sold to patrons standing up. When no other restaurant/bar opened in the district, Davidson decided to enter the restaurant business.[1] Clyde's opened in a former biker bar known as the B&J Restaurant. When B&J lost its lease after one too many brawls occurred there, Davidson rented the two front rooms of the building and established Clyde's there. The oak bar was retained, and the decor changed to an assortment of oddities.[2] The first Clyde's restaurant was in Georgetown,[3] the first bar/restaurant in Georgetown to open on a Sunday, the first restaurant in Georgetown to serve brunch, and the first restaurant in Georgetown to hire women as waiters.[1] Georgetown University student John Laytham began working at Clyde's as a busboy six months after it opened. Although he never graduated from the university, in 1968 Laytham became the restaurant's general manager. In 1970, Davidson asked Laytham to join him as a partner in Clyde's (giving him 20 percent of the ownership).[3]

The 1976 hit song "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band was inspired by the spicy happy hour menu at Clyde's of Georgetown. Writer Bill Danoff ate at Clyde's one afternoon, then came home and told his wife that "afternoon delight" should really refer to sexual intercourse. (The song only vaguely hints at sex.)[4]

In 1970, Davidson and Laytham purchased the Old Ebbitt Grill, which originally opened in 1856.[2] In December 1985, Clyde's Restaurant Group purchased from founder Richard J. McCooey three notable D.C. drinking and dining establishments: The Tombs, 1789 Restaurant, and F. Scott's.[5] These restaurants underwent a significant renovation from 2016 to 2018, and F. Scott's was closed, becoming a new bar and lounge area for 1789.[6]

Clyde's Restaurant Group subsequently opened three more locations under the "Clyde's" name in Columbia, Maryland (1975); Tysons Corner, Virginia (1980); Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia (1991); Chevy Chase, Maryland (1995); Alexandria, Virginia (1998); and Gallery Place in Washington, D.C. (2005).[7] Clyde's Restaurant Group also opened several restaurants which are not branded under the "Clyde's" name. These include The Tomato Palace (1993), which opened next door to the Clyde's location in Columbia; Tower Oaks Lodge in the Tower Oaks development of Rockville, Maryland (2002); Clyde's Willow Creek Farm in Broadlands, Virginia (2006); and The Hamilton in Washington, D.C. (2011).[8] According to Laytham, Boston Properties, the developer of the Tower Oaks office park, allowed Clyde's restaurant use of the land rent-free, and built the infrastructure of the restaurant at no cost as well.[8] The Van Metre Companies, developer of the Broadlands mixed-use planned community, provided the same package of rent-free land and no-cost infrastructure to allow the construction of Clyde's Willow Creek Farm.[8] Clyde's Restaurant Group also received a major financial incentive to open 37,500-square-foot (3,480 m2) The Hamilton. The company secured a 40-year lease from the landlord (Germany-based Deka Immobilien Investment)[9] at $20.00 per square foot, which rises to just $29 per square foot after 40 years. Although the multi-level restaurant and music venue cost $24 million to construct, the District of Columbia gave Clyde's $5 million in tax increment financing. Within a year of its opening, Laytham said it employed 355 people.[8] According to Laytham in 2012, the company was opening a new location "Every few years".[8]

The Tysons Corner location closed on February 5, 2017, to make way for development of the Tysons Central residential and commercial building project.[10][11] On July 4, 2017, Clyde's Restaurant Group closed The Tomato Palace,[12] and repurposed the 4,600-square-foot (430 m2) space into a music venue called The Soundry, which opened on June 1, 2018.[13] Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Columbia location and The Soundry permanently closed on July 19, 2020.[14] The Reston location closed on May 21, 2022.[15]

In March 2023, Clyde's Restaurant Group announced that it would open Ebbitt House, a spinoff of Old Ebbitt Grill, in the Reston Station development center in 2025.[16] In May 2023, Clyde's purchased Rye Street Tavern, a two-story, 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) waterfront restaurant in South Baltimore's Port Covington neighborhood that opened in 2017 and closed in 2021, from Andrew Carmellini's NoHo Hospitality. They announced plans to make "significant improvements" to the space, including a remodeled kitchen and the addition of an oyster bar and an outdoor dining and bar area.[17] It reopened on July 15, 2024.[18]

In July 2023, Clyde's announced that it would open Cordelia Fishbar, a seafood restaurant focused on charcoal grilling, in Union Market in Washington, D.C.[19] It opened on November 20, 2024.[20]

Clyde's founder Stuart Davidson died on August 1, 2001.[1] Clyde's co-owner and CEO John Laytham died on January 3, 2019.[21] In July 2019, Clyde's Restaurant Group was acquired by Graham Holdings.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Martin, Douglas. "Stuart C. Davidson, 78, Owner of Legendary Washington Bar." New York Times. August 8, 2001. Accessed 2012-12-29.
  2. ^ a b Kelly, John. "At Clyde's, Treat Yourself to a Good Lunch and Cause." Washington Post. June 3, 2009. Accessed 2012-12-29.
  3. ^ a b Kretikos, Eleni. "Laytham Keeps His Ego on the Side as Clyde's Restaurant Group Prospers." Washington Business Journal. October 21, 2002. Accessed 2012-12-29.
  4. ^ Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 From 1955 to the Present. New York: Billboard Books, 2003, p. 438.
  5. ^ Sun, Lena H. (August 1, 1988). "Clyde's a Recipe for Success". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Travis (February 7, 2018). "New Bar at 1789". The Georgetowner.
  7. ^ Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne. New City Upon a Hill. p. 115.
  8. ^ a b c d e Joynt, Carol (January 5, 2012). "A Q&A With John Laytham, CEO of Clyde's Restaurant Group". Washingtonian.
  9. ^ "New York Life Insurance Co. buys Westory building". Washington Post. August 5, 2012.
  10. ^ Neibauer, Michael (January 3, 2017). "Clyde's of Tysons to close in short order, clearing way for new development". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Shapiro, Lisa (January 4, 2017). "Tysons Clyde's to Close February 5, 2017". Viva Tysons Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  12. ^ Cooper, Rebecca (July 5, 2017). "Clyde's turning the Tomato Palace in Columbia into music venue, restaurant". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  13. ^ Britto, Brittany (May 31, 2018). "Columbia music venue The Soundry to open Friday". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  14. ^ Meyer, Jacob Calvin (June 24, 2020). "Clyde's of Columbia, The Soundry closing for good in mid-July amid coronavirus pandemic". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  15. ^ Clabaugh, Jeff (February 10, 2022). "Clyde's is closing its Reston restaurant after 31 years". WTOP News. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Plumb, Tierney (March 9, 2023). "A First-Ever Spinoff of Old Ebbitt Grill Is Coming to Reston". Eater DC. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Yeager, Amanda (May 8, 2023). "Clyde's Restaurant Group will take over Rye Street Tavern in South Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. ^ Deal-Zimmerman, Michelle (July 2, 2024). "Rye Street Tavern in Baltimore Peninsula set to reopen July 15". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Clabaugh, Jeff (July 31, 2023). "New Union Market restaurant will grill its seafood with charcoal". WTOP-FM. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  20. ^ Spiegel, Anna (November 19, 2024). "Swanky seafood spot Cordelia's Fishbar swims into Union Market". Axios D.C. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Barnes, Bart (January 15, 2019). "John Laytham, who helped Clyde's restaurants prosper, dies at 74". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ Maynard, Michelle (August 1, 2019). "From News To Nightcaps: Washington's Graham Family Buys The Clyde's Group". Forbes.
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