Whitlow’s debuts just in time to watch Washington Capitals’ “Great 8” star Alexander Ovechkin try to beat Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record. | Fredde Lieberman/Whitlow’s Whitlow’s at the Wharf showcases sports, $5 beers, wings, and rubber duckies bobbing in c ocktails Whitlow’s Bar & Grill, the historic watering hole that closed in Clarendon in 2021 after nearly 30 years before resurfacing in Shaw, debuts its latest D.C. digs on Friday, March 21 (949 Wharf Street SW). Owner Jon Williams completely transformed the Wharf’s two-story Brighton bar into the waterfront dive of his dreams. Upon entry, it’s hard to miss a 46-foot marbled bar framed with a massive “Whitlow’s” mural and custom LED-lit trivia wheel activated by bartenders. If the handsome Elvis bust perched above the bar looks familiar, it should. Williams found an antique twin of the Clarendon one, which currently oversees drinkers in Shaw. For its second D.C. location, Whitlow’s calling cards like cheese fries, nachos, smash burgers, fried pickles, smoked wings, shrimp and grits, and Andouille sausage-topped penne joins bottomless brunch and weekday happy hour (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) with $5 ice-cold beers and rail drinks and $8 margs and espresso martinis on draft. Touristy cocktails done well include crushes, rum buckets, and a blood-orange tequila coupe with a mini rubber ducky-slash-souvenir floating on top. Fredde Lieberman/Whitlow’s The neon-lit “Grill” sign makes a long-awaited comeback near the lengthy bar. Whitlow’s at the Wharf devotes tons of TVs and a massive projector screen to sports. The TGIF opening comes just in time for March Madness, with the University of Maryland men’s basketball team playing its first tournament game tonight in front of its sea of fans in “Crab 5” T-shirts. Retro artwork memorializes the bar’s storied past, and an upper-level mural gives year-round love for cherry blossoms about to do their thing across the Potomac. Whitlow’s plans to plays off its 6,000-person Anthem neighbor with a high-end speaker system and stage for live music. The second-story level, now outfitted with an Art Deco-era wooden bar, sports an additional patio overlooking the water. The bar’s legacy dates back to 1946 when founder David Whitlow opened the original at the corner of 11th and E Streets NW (about a 10-minute drive north of the Wharf). Greg Cahill — who’s Jon Williams’ dad — took over in 1971, and the family relocated Whitlow’s to Clarendon’s Wilson Boulevard in 1995, closing it in 2021, before moving it back to the District in 2022. Williams dove deep into his local storage unit to dust off some dearly missed, Pawn Stars-worthy Whitlow’s memorabilia that now lives on at the Wharf. That includes the iconic vertical green “Grill” sign that lured post-Prohibition drinkers into the long-gone D.C. original, as well as antique booths that once sat inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Such reclaimed accents join all-new furniture and huge garage doors that roll up to a prime people-watching patio. Fredde Lieberman/Whitlow’s The second-story perch overlooks the Wharf’s own stage where bands play in the summer. Whitlow’s on the Water, the bar’s 50-foot, tiki-styled party boat that first set sail in 2024, will prominently dock out front starting this spring. For now, stroll along the banks of the Southwest Waterfront to gawk at a Texas steakhouse titan’s 252-foot superyacht that’s been anchored there for days. Opening weekend hours start at 4 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Daily service starts Monday, March 24, with weekday hours from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to midnight. Fredde Lieberman/Whitlow’s Whitlow’s sits right next to Shake Shack. ...read more read less