EXCLUSIVE!
Bish Thompson's, O'Donnell's, Swenson's, Hot Shoppes, Little Tavern... all legendary names in Bethesda dining history. Today, all are just that: history.
Add one more venerable name to the list this Friday:
Hamburger Hamlet.
The burger brand name that has adorned the Georgetown Square Shopping Center since 1973 is taking a final curtain call.
Around this time last year, Hamburger Hamlet had teamed with California chain Du-par's as a joint, 24-hour restaurant venture. A few months later, the Hamburger Hamlet chain quietly filed for bankruptcy. The Bethesda Hamburger Hamlet business (not the restaurant space itself, for which the lease runs out in 2023) was sold to an unknown buyer on October 30 of this year, according to an online listing. Du-par's Hamburger Hamlet was still open as of Sunday morning, and there is no official word that it will close yet. But by this Friday, "everything must go!" Dining room tables, chairs, booths, banquettes, kitchen equipment, food storage, waiters' trays, restroom toilet paper and soap dispensers; you name it, it's up for auction.
This leaves the future of Du-par's Hamburger Hamlet in doubt. An employee who answered the telephone Sunday confirmed the Hamburger Hamlet name will be dropped, and that the name will be changed to simply, Du-par's. He said new exterior signs would be installed.
How the renamed restaurant would operate with no tables and chairs, or basic kitchen and restroom equipment was unclear. It certainly raises skepticism, but it is certainly possible they could close briefly, and install all new furniture and equipment. It's interesting to note that the prominently-placed refrigerator case that holds the famous Du-par's pies and baked goods is not among the items up for bid. Was Du-par's the buyer of Hamburger Hamlet?
On the other hand, the Capitol Online auction website states that "Hamlet is shutting its [sic] doors."
So stay tuned, but what I can confirm this morning is that the Hamburger Hamlet name is officially history in Bethesda.
15 comments:
"its" is proper in that sentence; "it's" is a contraction of "it is".
I know that. I know that. A very rare error on my part. I hope people will be just as tough in proofreading other local media as well, because I don't see comments like this when errors are more frequent and blatant than this.
Ironically I just saw this was the top headline on Bethesda Patch right now (7:17PM Monday):
"New Business: Hope Floats Moves Up in Bethesdsa"
Yes, it said "Bethesdsa". Better get the red pen out and call out Patch in their comments.
Odd that you broke all of the major stories in Bethesda today (Hamburger Hamlet closing and Westbard redevelopment) but someone is commenting about use of contractions.
Yeah, and by the way, after the critics are done proofreading other local media, I hope they'll be just as vigilant in criticizing media outlets that steal stories from my blog without attribution or due credit for my work.
Agreed. The utter theft of your hard work is more worthy of criticism than these minor items..
This is not entirely unexpected. It's been a good 12 years since I had to wait for a table, and their various attempts to reinvent themselves over the years have mostly flopped. Remember when they removed the word "Hamburger" and became just "The Hamlet"? Their attempts to brighten the place up in recent years with bigger windows and brighter paint just seem antithetical to the concept (cozy dark paneled burger place with old Hollywood memorabilia). I think when they remodeled Georgetown Square and they put up the most boring sans-serif lighted sign I have ever seen that was the the clue that it was all over.
I grew up in Bethesda (born in 1952), and HH was an immediate success when it opened. While it served hamburgers, it was a sit-down alternative to fast-food restaurants like McDonald's. My parents loved it for that reason, but when it was my money, I felt it was overpriced.
Regardless, I found myself there every few years, and always enjoyed it. My parents' generation were their primary customers, just as they were Hot Shoppes's primarily customers - a good sit-down meal for $8 or $10 was a good deal, and a treat.
Bethesda was a small town when I was growing up. It's big city now. I retired six years ago and moved to Warrenton, VA, which is still a small town at heart.
I'm sorry to see HH go. We now have the high-priced restaurants, and the low-priced ones, but few places where the middle class can sit down for a good, and moderately priced dinner.
Sin transit gloria mundi...
Dave Hennessey
Broad Run, Virginia
Whoops - it's "Sic", not "sin", but I may have committed a few of those too.
I was a patron at Hamburger Hamlet for years. It was just like Cheers. A whole bunch of us are anxiously awaiting to find out who the new owner is. Do you have any idea?
The space will be put up for lease, but it's too early to know which restaurant will be interested.
We heard it has already been leased.
We just heard it might be Outback..yay
Outback would be good. They used to be in downtown Bethesda in the 90s.
Outback would be "yuck", a Silver Diner "AWESOME"!!
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