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Dr_Midnight t1_iw4n3al wrote

I'm going to speak to something with specific regard to Midtown-Mt. Vernon, and the unforeseen ramifications that can result from a change to neighborhood.

Particularly along the N. Charles Street corridor spanning the range of Mt. Vernon Place through Preston, there was nightlife there for years and restaurants that would also be open for varying times throughout the week.

Generally speaking, Maryland Liquor Laws limit establishments to staying open until 2AM, and most places on weekends would serve that time frame - save for after hour spots that would stay open longer. Those places attract people, and, in particular, attract foot traffic - especially in a place like Midtown-Mt. Vernon where parking is relatively very limited.

In the past decade, however, the area has seen the closure of Emma's, Eden's Lounge, Mansion, the Elephant, the Hippo, Grand Central, and a few more night spots that all closed for one reason or another. Part of this has been a result of owners moving on (The Hippo and Eden's Lounge). Some of it has been a result of owners screwing up (Mansion). Part of it has come from developers taking over spaces and then doing nothing with them for literally over a decade (Eden's Lounge). There are other reasons, but the net result is that Mt. Vernon's nightlife is all but dead. Where the streets used to be filled with people in the night hours on Fridays and Saturdays, they're all gone.

One of those reasons in particular is community pressure (which also applied to both Mansion and Elephant) - particularly in that persons moving into the neighborhood for some reason did not want the nightlife there. I'll need understand the concept behind moving into a neighborhood that has a certain culture and then demanding that it change, but that's what we have here.

The restaurants in that area thrived on that foot traffic. Never on Sunday used to be open until 3AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Not anymore. The Spot was previously open and busy until 4AM on the same days. Those days are gone. Even Viccino's used to stay open late. That's no more as well.

No amount of employees from Agora (sorry, but it's true) going to those places day after day are going to keep them continually afloat.

Then came COVID-19 and that destroyed several that were on the margins already. City Cafe is gone, just to give an example.

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ice_cold_fahrenheit t1_iw4oj97 wrote

Wow as someone who lives in Mount Vernon I really feel that. It feels like I have to go to DC, or at least Fells Point or Pigtown, for an actual nightlife and it’s partly why 99% of the time I sit at home doing nothing but Reddit because there’s nothing interesting in my immediate vicinity.

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DfcukinLite t1_iw4vshu wrote

I mean you could go to station north, old goucher or Hampden..

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ice_cold_fahrenheit t1_iw4w1qy wrote

What’s there at Station North and Old Groucher?

EDIT: Ok there is the Crown at Station North. Maybe I should find a time to go there (though heard it can be very hit or miss depending on who’s playing).

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DfcukinLite t1_iw4xe1f wrote

Station north: The Royal Blue, Club Charles (club chuck), Metro Gallery, Tapas Teatro, The Depot, 1722, The Crown, Joe Squared, The Charles and Parkway Theaters, Alma Cocina Latina, Foraged, Le Comptoir du Vin, Guilford Hall Brewery and Jung kak

Old Goucher: Clavel, Wc Harlan, Dutch Courage, Church Bar, Faddensonnen, Ibar, No Land Beyond

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PigtownFoo t1_iw71lt7 wrote

Bummer that the North Avenue Market didn’t survive.

Station North/Old Goucher has the best nightlife in the city, IMO, for those not into the Fed/Canton/Fells scenes.

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PigtownFoo t1_iw718wp wrote

Wow. Thanks for considering Pigtown for nightlife!

As bad as Mt. Vernon may have it, our businesses really have it rough. Aside from Bob’s Bar (on the most dangerous intersection in the neighborhood), none of the other bars (the few we have) are open daily. And it’s not their faults…there’s just not enough business or money to go around in Pigtown to justify operating more than 3-4 days. It’s sad. The pandemic hit hard over here.

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danhalka t1_iw4qy7d wrote

That's a pretty good example, well laid out. I don't know a thing about the MV nightlife scene as of the mid 00's, but it used to be you could bounce from spot to spot more or less at an amble from Dionysus & BA to stable to pint size all the way down to midtown in the dead of winter without getting cold.. seems like more of a non-starter today.

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jesus_chen t1_iw80wz0 wrote

You are spot on with the Agora mention. Prior to 2020, there were about 1,500 Agora employees in Mt. Vernon that ate out for lunch mostly due to the awkward arrangement of the re-purposed classic MV buildings most Agora subsidiary companies occupy + an abundance of options. They key here being "lunch"; after 5PM, those 1,500 folks left MV for the surrounding counties or Fells/Canton/Fed Hill. The pandemic saw a drastic reduction in Agora employee presence, obviously, that impacted those lunch numbers (City Cafe was one of the first to go), and a reduction in the Agora workforce post-pandemic is not bringing any of those places back.

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