2008 Woodie Awards
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The nightclub at 1217 22nd St. is now permanently closed. It will be redeveloped and leased as retail space by its new owner, Amerimar Enterprises, which owns the Marriott Hotel above the club and Blackies, a closed restaurant next door, said Lulu's former owner Al Chadsey.
"The (nightclub) business is not what it used to be," he said last week, citing the rise of liabilities, such as underage drinking, as an important reason why the new owner doesn't want to keep Lulu's as a nightclub. The new owners could not be reached for comment.
Lulu's, the closest among D.C.'s many clubs to campus, hosted its last extravagant bash starting at 8 p.m. Friday. It lasted well into the morning, with an all-night open bar. DJ Chris Styles from HOT 99.5 was spinning and memorabilia from the club, including the neon signs hanging on the walls and T-shirts with the Lulu's logo, were given away throughout the night. Earlier last week everything inside the club was auctioned off in an effort to completely liquidize its assets, Chadsey said.
Most partygoers, a majority of whom were college students, danced the night away Friday and said they were having a good time.
"I haven't been here since I was underage, but I'm having a lot of fun tonight," GW senior Steven Ruggio said at the club Friday.
"This is excellent. There's free alcohol and I'm having a good time," said partygoer Jose Serrano, a Foggy Bottom resident. By the end of the night, however, and much to the dismay of many partiers, the bars were short on alcohol.
Lulu's, previously known as Déjà-Vu, started out as a café attached to the back of Blackies restaurant. Former owner Blackie Auger was lent $9,273 by a fan and a businessman to open up a bigger place than the restaurant he already had, which was called Minute Grill and later Blackies. By the time it closed last December, it had expanded from a capacity of 30 to 1,200.
