By now it’s likely that pretty much anyone who has ever gone elbows-deep in drawn butter at the Quarterdeck has heard that the historic crab-feast venue is closing due to failed lease negotiations. The story broke with the folks over at TBD and has been expanded upon by the Washington Business Journal and ArlNow, who have printed an excerpt from Lou Gatti’s email to the Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights Civic Association.
Here at Capital Spice, we were eager to find out more about what would become of one of our favorite places to bring out-of-town guests, so we reached out to Haig Paul, the property owner, for comment. He was unaware that word had gotten out, but he was willing to go on the record with us about what the future holds. According to Mr. Paul:
“There is a change coming. We’re still in the process of lease negotiations, so I can’t go into too many details at this point. The only thing I know for certain is that a restaurant will remain in operation in some form [at 1200 Fort Myer].”
When I asked if the new restaurant would represent a fundamental change away from Quarterdeck’s most popular offerings, Paul didn’t seem to think so. “The Quarterdeck is a niche type restaurant – it’s unique with a very steady and loyal clientele. I would like to see it continue in its current format. It won’t become something radically different.”
Capital Spice 
November 22, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I think you took me to this place. Bummer it is being shut down.
November 23, 2010 at 7:17 am
Hi Neena. Yeah, we were disappointed when we heard this. Quarterdeck was a favorite summertime spot of ours.
November 22, 2010 at 2:35 pm
[…] at 2:35 p.m. — Local food blog Capital Spice talked with the restaurant’s landlord, who says that the property will likely remain a restaurant, possibly even retaining the current […]
November 23, 2010 at 8:59 am
I’ve lived a few doors down from the Quarterdeck for sixteen years, and Mr Paul is being disingenuous. Mr Paul has a new owner that’s been attempting to sign a lease with him for over a month, but the issue with both the current owner, and the prospective new one is that as the property owner Mr Paul has a legal obiligation to maintain the property in good repair and he has neither done so in the past, nor has he been willing to give any reasonable assurance he will do so in the future.
As such, Mr Paul is the problem, and until he’s willing to live up to his obligations as the property owner it is unlikely that anyone will sign a lease with him. Unfortunately this means that the most likely scenario should the Quarterdeck close is that it will never re-open.
November 23, 2010 at 10:47 am
Sigma,
Unless you’re directly involved in discussions between Mr. Paul and prospective tenants, your assessment of the situation is based on hearsay.
We’re limiting our reporting to statements from the parties directly involved – Mr. Paul’s via our conversation and Mr. Gatti’s via the email reprinted at ARLNow.com.
Thanks for reading…we’re definitely watching this situation with interest as we’d hate to lose our favorite all-you-can-eat crab place.
November 23, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Yes it’s heresay, but only if two people directly involved have mis-represeted the facts to me. Whereas they both have come to the same conclusion seperately mitigates against it.
But for now I’m satisfied calling it heresay, regardless of how well-informed my statement is.
November 23, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Thanks for being good-natured about it, Sigma. Nothing against you – we’re just watching out to make sure we’re not inadvertently spreading rumors through our blog.
November 23, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Thanks. I should clarify the the seconf paragraph in my oroginal statement is solely my opinion, as are some in the first, and people should consider and treat them as such.
November 23, 2010 at 1:45 pm
And I wish there was a spell check…
December 8, 2010 at 11:00 pm
QUARTERDECK HAS NEW LEASE
For a while, it looked like we would have to close. This was finally settled today. We have another 15 year lease. It seems that the landlord, who has also been my friend for the last 15 years, and I had trouble reaching an agreement; it took 3 months. In retrospect, it reminds me more of a family disagreement; now, everything’s back to normal.
I want to thank all of you for the kind emails and the memories of the Quarterdeck you shared. Like you, I have always loved the Quarterdeck from my first visit, which was over 3 decades ago. The most moving story was from someone who lamented she would not be able to bring her children to the QD, as her parents had done with her.
Patrick Morrogh, a nine year veteran of the QD and a manager, will take over the day to day operations. I think the younger folks need to implement fresh ideas. At 62, I will still be in charge of something, but I don’t know what.
We will be updating our website: http://www.qdrest.com .
Thanks to all of you
Lou Gatti