“Thank you for your consideration in this regard.” ![]() “The details about the Forest Inn’s tenancy at Westover Shopping Center are confidential business matters and consequently we can’t comment on those details,” a company representative said. Van Metre declined to specifically comment on the lease negotiations to ARLnow. ![]() And if you don’t introduce yourself, they’ll introduce themselves to you.”īoth the owner and general manager says the regulars are taking the news pretty hard. need to come in here and start a conversation with them,” Choudhary says. “I feel like they stabbed us in the back,” he said.Ĭhoudhary also says that Van Metre has accused the bar of attracting a “rough crowd,” which he says is an unfair characterization. It’s only been the last few months when business has gradually returned to what it was pre-pandemic and, Sharma says, they are nearly done paying off the back rent. What’s more, Sharma says that Van Metre made a deal with Forest Inn that they could pay $500 in rent for the several months they were shut down in 2020 as long as they promised to pay back rent as business normalized. Owner Nick Sharma - Choudhary’s cousin - told ARLnow that both the 2019 flood in Westover and the pandemic-related shut down about eight months later hit the bar hard.įor one, records were lost in the flood, including several relating to the lease. To Choudhary, this was a clear sign that they were looking for a new tenant. The bar attempted to negotiate a new lease two years ago, but Choudhary said, but the landlord decided to put them on a month-to-month lease. While sad and disappointing, it’s not necessarily a surprise to ownership. The Forest Inn is hosting a going-away party on Sunday, June 26 with the last day of operations currently set for Wednesday, June 29, Choudhary says. They initially were told that the Forest Inn had until at least the end of July, but ownership was told late last week that they needed to be out by the end of this month because a new tenant needed time for construction. “I just think they want something new over here. Everything was right on the table ,” he tells ARLnow sitting in a booth on a recent night with a few regulars laughing in the background. “It’s not a lack of funds or anything money-wise. Now, though, the Forest Inn is closing because its landlord - Van Metre Commercial - is declining to renew their lease, Choudhary says. In 1994, it moved a few blocks to its current location at 5849 Washington Blvd. ![]() The long-time Westover bar and grill on Washington Blvd first opened in 1981, and initially named The Black Forest Inn, where the post office used to be. (Updated at 2:00 p.m.) The Forest Inn in Westover, one of Arlington’s last dive bars, is closing next week, general manager Ken Choudhary confirms to ARLnow.
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