The
Saphire Cafe closed last year at 7940 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Its building stands on one of several parcels of land that will one day be the long-delayed Artena Bethesda development. Opened in June of 2002 by founders Danny Lopes and Charles Ly, the business was named in honor of Lopes' mother.
The cafe and lounge had a rear deck facing Woodmont Avenue, which it turned into a tiki bar in 2004. After closing exactly twenty years after opening, the cafe's contents were auctioned off last summer. By December, the building was suffering from some of the same vandalism as the abandoned properties at the site of the also-delayed 8008 Wisconsin Avenue redevelopment up the street. Here is a look back at the last year in photos that may spur some memories of times spent here, in chronological order:
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| June 2022 |
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| December 2022 |
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| A last look at the tiki bar |
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| December 2022 vandalism |
9 comments:
Wow for a place that opened in 2002, the interior decor looks like dated garbage. No wonder it closed.
That place was one of the worst dive bars in MoCo during its last ten years. Horribly worn furniture, bas service, and little to no safety to consume food. It's clientele consisted of the blue collar immigrant variety that was their just for the cheaply available Mexican beer and tequila.
Lived in Bethesda most of my life and enjoy a beer from time to time. Never been in that place nor even seen the inside.
Part of my job interview with Wachovia was over beers there, right across from their offices. I'll always remember that.
That place was awesome
Would play pool there with some friends that sort of were regulars there for a bit. The bartender was cool and prices reasonable, but place was pretty gross. Occasionally saw a mouse running around too.
The last dive bar in Bethesda. Sorry to see them go.
I guess Caddie's has the sticky floors and plastic cups vibe, but it's just not the same.
Vuk (pizza/pinball) was a fun place, albeit much shorter-lived. It's the end of an era, I guess, with the closing of Saphire Cafe. The owners hung in there, long after many of their neighbors closed or moved to other locations.
The place had a total of 3 owners during the 20 years. Prior to that it was Candy Apple Red; hence some of the seat coverings. The last owner Jason Bang did his best to keep it alive! My heart goes out to him.
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