Long-time Arlington watering hole Rhodeside Grill will be closing its doors next week.
The restaurant, bar and event venue at 1836 Wilson Blvd — around the halfway point between Rosslyn and Courthouse — will serve its last customers on Saturday, Feb. 21, co-owner Chris Lefbom confirmed to ARLnow.
“Over the next ten days, we’d love to raise a glass with you one last time,” the owners said in a statement.
Rhodeside Grill’s sister restaurants — Ragtime in Courthouse, William Jeffrey’s Tavern on Columbia Pike, Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church, and Bear Branch Tavern in Vienna — remain open.
Opened in 1996 and renovated in 2013, Rhodeside Grill remained a steady draw over the years. The closure comes with redevelopment pending for the site that includes Rhodeside, Il Radicchio restaurant, and the National Science Teaching Association office building. Approved in 2024, the project will construct a seven-story, 187-unit apartment building with ground floor retail.
The full statement from Rhodeside’s owners is below.
After 30 amazing years, Rhodeside Grill will be closing our doors on Saturday, February 21. With the building set for redevelopment and no long-term lease in place, we’ve had to make the tough decision to move on.
What started back in 1996 as Alice and Wilson Whitney’s vision for a cozy neighborhood hangout turned into something so much bigger than we ever imagined. The conversations, the laughter, the music — all of it happened because of you.
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who’s walked through our doors over the years: catching live bands downstairs, celebrating special moments, meeting friends after work, or making Rhodeside part of your weekly routine. You didn’t just support a restaurant – you made it feel like home.
Over the next ten days, we’d love to raise a glass with you one last time. Come by, share a memory, grab a drink, and help us celebrate everything that made Rhodeside Grill what it was.
Thank you for the laughs, the music, the cheers, and all the love.
We’ll carry it with us always.
And please keep supporting our sister Vintage restaurants:
Ragtime (right up the street!), William Jeffrey’s Tavern, Dogwood Tavern, and Bear Branch Tavern.
-The Rhodeside Grill Family
