Science Club: Intelligent by Design

By Fritz Hahn
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, January 13, 2006

The art nouveau logo over the door of the imposing brownstone on 19th Street NW says "Science Club." Passersby might wonder what lurks behind the heavy doors and etched glass windows -- a place where men and women in lab coats gather to discuss Newtonian physics or string theory? A debating society for biologists?

Not exactly -- it's downtown Washington's newest lounge and nightspot, but one that owner Steve Maguire hopes is a little more cerebral than most.

When he first looked at the building, Maguire explains, the facade reminded him of a turn-of-the-20th-century private club. "The facade looks like it's an institution, like we've been here for 100 years," he says. "I thought about the Cosmos Club, places like that. I wanted to open a bar where there's intelligent discussion about the news of the day."

A noble goal, but I have a theory that although Science Club (1136 19th St. NW; 202-775-0747) may appeal to those who want to ponder intelligent design and the size of finches' beaks over an imported ale, it will certainly attract a broader audience. Open since mid-December, Science Club draws ahead-of-the-curve DJs and women with high heels and tiny purses, as well as people who introduce themselves to the bartender as science teachers who stopped by because they heard about the name. Couples wander in at happy hour, dressed in their office suits, for glasses of house wine and cold $3 bottles of Yuengling, and perhaps a snack of hummus or baba ghanouj. Tables are hard to come by on weekends, and the dance floor fills as DJs spin forward-looking dubstep and broken beat records. The buzz of conversation fills the air.

I shouldn't be surprised -- Maguire knows a thing or two about Washington nightlife. He was the general manager at Chi-Cha Lounge when the couch-filled U Street bar arrived on the scene, and he stayed there for four years before helping owner Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld open the trendy Dupont lounge Gazuza.

After Gazuza, Maguire decided it was time to take a step up. "I wanted to be a sole owner," he says. "I went searching with no understanding of the D.C. real estate market. It took me two years. I got to a point where I was going to take the next place that came along."

Luckily, he found this four-level space, recently occupied by restaurants Thai Bistro and Star of Siam. Maguire and his designers have made the most of the narrow building. Science Club's decor is simple but as artfully distressed as a pair of $300 jeans from Denim Bar: walls that alternate between painted panels and whitewashed brick; shelves behind the bar that look as if they were hewn from the skeleton of the building; mahogany chairs have been violently "antiqued"; mismatched light fixtures shine down onto the polished hardwood floors.

In one of the few nods to the club's name, patrons at the bar sit on round metal stools rescued from some high-school chem lab -- the kind where, if it's too short, you spin the seat to raise it. A nearby chalkboard is available for computations as well as random graffiti.

Once you squeeze past the two-person booths hugging the walls near the entrance, things become a little more spacious. In the back, where tables are moved on weekends to create a makeshift dance floor, a long, low banquette snakes around three walls, and a table is hidden in a semi-private nook. Mirrors and a skylight combine to make it feel roomier than you'd expect, which is welcome when Roots and Zee of the ESL Records group See-I spin dub and funk on Wednesdays, or Digital K -- nephew of legendary DJ King Tubby -- takes over on Thursdays.

I prefer to hang out in the basement. Accessed separately from the street through a padded door -- look for the small sign that says "Bar" -- it seems like a holdover from Prohibition, thanks to low ceilings and sparse decor that is more "furnished cellar" than "finished basement."

Science Club is fairly egalitarian. There's no dress code, no cover charge, no private rooms or tables reserved for bottle service. "I've never been about VIPs and separation," Maguire says, though he admits he watches the door on weekends "to make sure the kids who go to [neighboring bar] Rumors and have 15 beers don't come in here and try to have their 16th."

Still, Science Club isn't cheap -- expect to pay $6 to $8 for a bottle of imported beer, and $10 or more for the large appetizer dishes. Service is hit-and-miss, with attentive waitresses one visit followed by scatterbrained service the next time.

For now, the most comfortable area is the second floor, which features a large table set in the prominent bay window and a stylish atmosphere more reminiscent of Eighteenth Street Lounge. It's also nonsmoking, though it's never been officially designated as such. "I think it's that we don't have ashtrays up there," Maguire says. "We'll see how it goes, but it's nonsmoking for now. I don't like to tell people who we are or what we are. I prefer to say, 'We're a little space in downtown D.C., so come in and judge for yourself.' " After all, what's more scientific than the survival of the fittest?

SO LONG, FAREWELL

They say bad news comes in threes, and this weekend is your last chance to say goodbye to a trio of Washington area nightspots.

The 37-year-old Stoney's Bar & Grill (1307 L St. NW; 202-347-9163) is one of the last of its kind in Washington -- a smoky, no-frills dive bar where tourists rub shoulders with cops, who rub shoulders with construction workers, who find themselves seated next to reporters or ladies of the evening at the cramped bar. After years of threats, the building is finally facing the wrecking ball.

Scheduled to close Saturday, Stoney's is marking the end of operations with a blowout party Friday, featuring a $5 menu that includes, well, everything: juicy Stoney burgers, pizza, the super grilled cheese (piled high with onions and bacon) and even pitchers of beer. Manager Sandy Irvin says it's a way to get rid of all the food and drink in stock -- and, of course, say thanks to loyal customers.

For the past few weeks, rumors have been flying that Stoney's will reopen later this year in an office building around 19th and I streets NW. Owner Anthony Harris has been looking at locations in that area, but nothing is set. If you want to stay updated on the bar's plans, send an e-mail to stoneysdc@gmail.com .

Also being displaced by construction is the Yacht Club of Bethesda (8111 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 301-654-2396). The over-35 singles club is sailing off into the sunset this weekend after 17 years and, host Tommy "The Matchmaker" Curtis says, 181 marriages between couples who met in the club, which resides in the basement of Bethesda's Holiday Inn.

Holiday Inn recently sold the building to Doubletree Hotels, and that company's multimillion-dollar renovation will turn the basement into a parking garage. Thankfully, the Yacht Club's magic has always been the mood rather than the dreary location.

Curtis says he's "had offers from all over" to move his virtual love boat but isn't ready to say just where. (The smart money is on a move to the Tysons Corner or McLean area, but Curtis just smiles and says that's "a very smart suggestion.") Friday and Saturday, Curtis is hosting "a reunion" for his regulars and the couples who met and fell in love at the Yacht Club. Reservations are "strongly suggested," he says, because "we don't want to disappoint anyone."

Keep abreast of the club's plans by getting on the e-mail list at http://yachtclubofbethesda.com/ .

Vida (1120 20th St. NW; 202-293-5433) hasn't been around as long as the Yacht Club or Stoney's, but the Mexican-themed lounge and restaurant has attracted young, international crowds for the past three years, thanks to two floors of dancing on the weekends, a huge patio and plenty of margaritas and tequila shots. Owners Jeff Holibaugh and Peter Balish are moving on to a new project and are going out Saturday night with a "Last Dance" party at Vida. Skip the cover charge by getting on the guest list at http://www.partyslave.com/ .