Saturday, January 06, 2018

Quincy's for lease in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

There have been rumors off-and-on about the owners of Quincy's getting the financial backing they need to reopen the shuttered bar at 4920 Del Ray Avenue. It's been vacant since March 2017. Those rumors now appear to be moot with the posting of for-lease signage at the building Friday. Quincy's was one of 12 downtown Bethesda nightspots to close, after Montgomery County Council President Hans Riemer's disastrous "nighttime economy" initiative ended up destroying the nighttime economy in downtown Bethesda.

Bethesda was hit the hardest by Riemer's fiasco of any town in the County. The other Quincy's locations remain open for business. To add insult to injury, Riemer had promised restaurant and bar owners he would end the County government's antiquated and arcane liquor sales monopoly, only to later do a 180° and take steps to preserve and strengthen that hated monopoly. That liquor regime alone puts a heavier financial burden on MoCo restaurateurs and bar owners, compared to their peers in D.C. and Virginia, in an already-slim profit margin business.