Six weeks after being forced to close when a car rammed into its building on 11th Street NW, Bohemian Caverns and its associated restaurant, Tap & Parlour, will reopen this week.

“There’ve been a lot of delays” in getting repairs completed, says co-owner and booker Omrao Brown—-many of the delays unavoidable, because of the specialized nature of the work. But, he adds, “Contractors [are] finishing the kitchen as we speak.”

Tap & Parlour, on the ground floor, opens for business on Thursday. The Caverns follows on Friday night—-when a large group of area musicians, led by pianist Federico Peña, performs a benefit to help cover the weeks’ worth of lost revenue for Brown and his business. The Caverns’ closure has meant the cancellation of concerts by several high-profile jazz performers, including bands led by drummer Ralph Peterson and bassist Ron Carter.

“I’ll start working on rescheduling those shows, to the extent that they can be rescheduled,” says Brown.

2010 photo by Ally Schweitzer