Fridays were always one of the biggest nights at Town nightclub in Washington D.C., as they welcomed their 18 and over crowd. It was not uncommon to see a line snaking down the street of patrons ready to watch the weekly drag show which at the time, featured superstars like fashion maven Riley Knoxx and RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Tatianna. 2020 saw the closing of both the DC Eagle as well as Ziegfields/Secrets, so there is no better time than to recall some of the best news that came out of last year for Washington D.C.’s nightlife landscape; the sorely missed Town nightclub is being reborn with a new name and a very interesting new location.
It's true. pic.twitter.com/DUCduK8QWz
— Town Danceboutique (@WhatsUpAtTown) August 7, 2019
Famed Washington D.C. nightclub Town (newly coined Town 2.0) is one step closer to opening to the public. According to WUSA9, a nightclub liquor license has been approved for the club to reopen in a former church located in Northeast D.C. The exact location of the new iteration of Town is inside the former Saint Phillips Baptist Church which is located at 1001 North Capitol Street NE in the NoMa neighborhood.
There was immediate opposition to the club opening in the neighborhood, but there were also proponents of the business opening, The Washington Blade reports that supporters of the new location for Town 2.0 included “an architect and structural engineer considered experts in noise abatement. The two testified that proven soundproofing technology that Town has hired them to employ will completely block any noise generated by the proposed nightclub from reaching an apartment building located next to the former church.” Detractors included the John and Jill Ker Conway Residence apartments in which many formerly homeless military veterans live, which according to the Blade, are now “the main opponents to Town’s application for a liquor license at the former church.”. (The attorney for the apartment building cites residents with PTSD who would be “adversely affected” by a nightclub next door to the residence).
#Breaking Popular D.C. gay nightclub, Town 2.0, is approved to reopen inside of a former church building in NoMa.
The District’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board approved the club’s license with conditions that would contribute to maintaining order in neighborhood @wusa9 #GetUpDC pic.twitter.com/a92QK3VJpI
— Michael Quander (@MikeQReports) January 30, 2020
There are however, several caveats contained in the license to ensure that Town is being required to adhere to in order for the owners of Town 2.0 to both be issued and to maintain its license: Among them, they must hire at least two officers with the Metropolitan Police Department Reimbursable Detail program on Fridays and Saturdays from at least midnight to closing & to ensure that no recorded or amplified sounds may be heard in a residence with its windows and doors closed or heard from public space. The official order granting Town 2.0 their license is located on WUSA9’s Michael Quander’s Twitter page.
Since leaving the Washington D.C. at the height of the Summer of 2018, Town has left a massive hole in the nightlife landscape of our nation’s capitol. While a new incarnation has been rumored for quite some time (and most likely slowed down due to the pandemic) it seems like the wheels are finally in motion and the lights will be going up on Town 2.0 very soon.
Follow Town 2.0 on Twitter