When Washington D.C. nightlife staple ZIegfield’s-Secrets closed it’s doors in March due to the pandemic that has taken hold of our country (and our nightlife), not many of us thought it would be the end of this forty year business as we knew it. Unfortunately, Ziegfield’s-Secrets announced on Facebook this week that the establishment would be closing for good. The post read in part, “Ziegfelds/Secrets regrettably has been forced to close our doors. We all have been honored to bring you the best in entertainment for 40 years, regrettably the option to stay and even have a closing event has been taken from us during this crisis.”
General Manager Steven Delurba told the Washington Blade that with nightlife suddenly ceased in D.C., MRP Realty (the real estate development company that owns the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets building) informed the club that it will take possession of the building in the next few weeks and the club needs to vacate the premises “much sooner than we expected.”
Immediately, messages of support for the staff at Ziegfield’s-Secrets started flooding social media. One of the establishment’s brightest stars, drag queen Ella Fitzgerald put a heartfelt message on her own social media, paying tribute to the establishment.
In terms of a reopening, the possibility of a Ziegfield’s-Secrets 2.0 is anyone’s guess. The Blade went on to report that at least two people associated with the club have said they plan to work with Delurba and principal owner Alan Carroll to possibly help them find a new location to reopen. Sadly, nightlife in DC is extremely strict regualtion-wise, making it exceedingly difficult for nightclubs like Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, who have a nude dance provision contained within their liquor license, to find a space.