Two Old Favorites, Reborn on U Street

Back on the ground floor, Tony Jones is getting a drink at the bar. He remembers the old Republic Gardens ("that was a nice crowd"), and his first impressions of the new version are mixed. "It's a small club, but the music at the bar sounds not so good. It's a little distorted. Other than that, it has a nice atmosphere, and it's not hot." He looks around. Tonight, "I don't know . . . I expected more people." He has a point. Although the dance floor is packed, the ground floor is sparsely populated, even after midnight.

Down the street, it's the other side of midnight before I make it into line for Pure, and after the bouncer at Republic asked for $20, I'm expecting the worst. But when I hand the bouncer my ID, he just nods and waves me in. Later, owner Dee Hailegorghis tells me that when Pure opened, weekend cover charges disappeared. "For me, I'd rather let the people in free and have them spend $20 at the bar. You charge people $20 at the door, they may turn away."

After 12 years owning Bar Nun, Hailegorghis decided last year that the club needed a new look and image. "It was time to change," he says, laughing. "Change is good, right?" The split-level lounge now sports a futuristic look that's more modern and Euro-styled than the previous plain, earth-tone space. Downstairs, where the main dance floor is, has become mostly white, while the second floor is more vibrant, with glowing panels on the walls and long, red benches running along the sides of the room. The bars are still small, though, and wedged into corners.

Michael Chepkwony, who is hanging out with Joy Montet at the rear bar, is making his first visit. "It's a nice place," he says. He's disappointed that the bar doesn't have single malts, "but the bartender is responsive." He compliments the music and the diversity of the lively crowd, but he's not sold on the new decor. "They could have done something better with this place."

Different DJs work the two floors, and I'm drawn upstairs, where the music is a world tour of hip-hop, soul, soca, reggae and high life -- "international night" in the best sense of the term.

Gizachew Andargeh, wearing a T-shirt with "Addis Ababa" in the familiar Coca-Cola script, is grooving in the narrow passageway between the bar and the dance floor. "I think it's a significant step up from Bar Nun," he says. He has visited before and is still getting used to the new look but loves the new Saturday night theme. "The decor is a little space age. I hate to hate on the place, but I don't think it fits the people who frequent the place.

"But when it comes down to it, the music is what makes the party, and the DJ tonight is great."