D.C.'s Fastest Growing Nightlife Hubs

Kate Rabinowitz // XYZ, 2017

The past decade in D.C. has been a period of growth and change, seen in new apartment buildings, declining affordability, and a changing populace. There’s another place that typifies D.C.’s recent evolution: its nightlife.

In 2008 D.C. had just over 800 bars, clubs, and restaurants. In 2016 there were nearly 1,300. The map below shows liquor licenses for bars, clubs, and restaurants from 2008 to 2016. Use the slider to see how DC’s nightlife has grown across the time period.

Not only has the number of liquor licenses for bars, clubs, and restaurants drastically grown, but the locations of ‘nightlife hubs’ has expanded as well. East of the Anacostia there continues to be only a handful of nightlife establishments. But most other D.C. neighborhoods have seen growth in liquor licenses. The fastest growth has been in neighborhoods that are rapidly gentrifying. Neighborhoods that experienced less demographic change across the period, like Woodley Park or Chevy Chase, saw modest increases in nightlife. Liqour license moratoriums in Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle and Glover Park held down growth in those neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that experienced drastic change, like Logan Circle, Shaw, and the H St. Corridor, all saw the number of nightlife establishments more than double across the period.

The growing nightlife options across D.C. are emblematic of the city's increasing vibrancy, wealth, and cultural status. However, like all hallmarks of gentrification, D.C.’s expanding nightlife shouldn’t come without concern. Selling liquor is a high-margin business and the increasing dominance of bars and restaurants may be a sign that business rents are too high for other storefronts.

The past eight years haven't been all growth for D.C. nightlife. Longtime establishments that served predominantly LGBTQ and African-Americans have shuttered, and new establishments hardly fill the gap. In 2006, to accomodate Nationals Stadium, LGBTQ bars and clubs around since the 1970's were razed. Iconic LGBTQ bars, including Remington's and Apex, have shut down. Bohemian Caverns and HR-57, music joints that played to D.C.'s jazz tradition, are gone. Bars along the U Street corridor that catered primarily to African Americans, like The Islander and Patty Boom Boom, have also closed.

Technical notes: Data was obtained from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration via FOIA. Years shown above refer to specific reporting months: December 2008, December 2009, November 2010, October 2011, December 2012, August 2013, August 2014, July 2015, and August 2016. Neighborhoods are defined by D.C. Office of Planning's Neighborhood Clusters. You can find complete code and data for this post on my github page.