Tommy Joe’s owner Alan Pohoryles is partnering with the Robert Wiedmaier Restaurant Group to bring the bar and restaurant to the former Urban Heights space in Woodmont Triangle.
The move will mean Tommy Joe’s will close sometime in mid-February. The new Tommy Joe’s, which will remain a sports bar concept, will then re-open in late February or early March at 7940 Norfolk Ave., Pohoryles said.
“The Tommy Joe’s building has been falling apart and we’re getting toward the end of our lease,” Pohoryles said Tuesday. “After being approached by the Robert Wiedmaier Group to team up and make the best sports bar possible with the best food around, it sort of became a no-brainer.”
Frank Shull, a partner in the RW Restaurant Group, said a lack of lunch business at Urban Heights led to its demise. He also said a sports bar concept would be more appealing to private groups such as wedding parties, birthdays or bar and bat mitzvahs.
“We wanted to do something that could generate more business all the time, as well as appeal to a broader spectrum of people,” Shull said.
He said they plan on installing hard wood flooring in the main dining room and adding new TVs. The RW Restaurant Group will create the new menu, the details of which are expected to be ironed out in the next couple of weeks. Pohoryles said it will include Tommy Joe’s staples like burgers and wings, as well as salads. The move was first reported by Eater DC.
The new partnership is somewhat of a homecoming for Pohoryles, who first opened Roof in the space in Dec. 2013. Roof closed in Nov. 2014, citing staffing problems.
Roof was followed by Urban Heights—an Asian small bites concept that the RW Restaurant Group opened in April 2015. Urban Heights closed at the end of December and parted ways with Chef Cliff Wharton, who helped develop the concept.
“We’re certainly hoping it works,” Shull said. “[Pohoryles] gave it a shot and where he failed was on service and food and that’s something we excel in. People in this town like sports and we think a sports bar will do great over there.”
Pohoryles said when he first opened Roof he had wanted to make it a sports bar, but “legal issues” prevented him from doing so and that’s why he decided to pursue the fine dining concept at Roof.
“Now those [legal] issues are done and I think it’s a perfect location for a great sports with a great rooftop,” Pohoryles said. “I think the joint venture is really exciting. Instead of them just opening a sports bar that might not make it that location, they’re taking a name like Tommy’s Joe’s, which has been around for 20 years and has a reputation for great nightlife and moving it over with the Wiedmaier name attached to it.”
He added that Tommy Joe’s staff will move over to the new restaurant if they choose to do so.
Tommy Joe's will fill the upper floors of this space on Norfolk Ave. that has been home to two different restaurants in the past two years. Credit: Andrew Metcalf
