Georgetown fine dining institution 1789 Restaurant and neighboring bar The Tombs will close for up to eight weeks in July and August for repairs to their shared roof.

“The roof is just falling apart. The building is so old,” explains Maureen Hirsch, Director of Marketing for Clyde’s Restaurant Group, which owns both spots. “It will get kind of ugly. There’s no way we could stay open.”

Clyde’s Restaurant Group will offer all the employees of both restaurants jobs in any of its other eateries while the businesses are closed. 

1789 and The Tombs will also undergo kitchen renovations, although the exact timing has not yet been worked out. In addition, Clyde’s Restaurant Group plans to expand 1789 into its adjoining art deco private event space, F. Scott’s, over the next year. The new addition will allow 1789 to have an additional dining room, a much larger bar, and for the first time, first floor restrooms.

“I imagine it will be the same feeling as 1789 but maybe a little more modern,” Hirsch says. The exact design plans are not final.

F. Scott’s will permanently close in July, but the 1789 expansion likely won’t be complete until the summer of 2017.

Photo by Jessica Sidman