Updated at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday: Tapp’d has closed in Bethesda after three years, a restaurant representative confirmed on Monday.
The bar and restaurant replaced Union Jack’s at 4915 St. Elmo Ave. in May 2016.
Co-owner Johnny Natoli said the declining downtown Bethesda scene led to the downfall of Tapp’d. The restaurant had a capacity of 396, and needed more traffic than smaller restaurants such as Olazzo and Duck Duck Goose.
“It takes a lot of volume to keep a machine like that going,” Natoli said in an interview on Tuesday. “There’s just not enough slices in the pie to go around.”
Natoli owned the restaurant with business partner Gary Ouellette. The pair also operate Union Jack’s locations in Columbia, Annapolis and Gaithersburg.
Natoli likened the area to the Ocean City boardwalk when Union Jack’s opened in 2005, but added that it’s fallen off drastically since then.
“There’s no action down there, there’s nothing going on except for Cordell [Avenue],” Natoli said. “… Cordell is the oasis in a darkening area. I see a lot of for lease signs down there.”
Natoli doesn’t have any future plans for Tapp’d, but didn’t rule out bringing the restaurant to a different location.
“You never know,” Natoli said. “I think the concept is really cool.”
Robert Dyer first reported the closing.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
