Work on a long-awaited Shirlington sports bar seems to be picking up steam.
Dudley’s Sport and Ale, set to be located at 2766 S. Arlington Mill Drive in the Village at Shirlington, could be open in time for football season to kick off, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Owner Reese Gardner has worked for years now to open up a new pub in the space formerly occupied by The Bungalow Sports Grill, which closed in June 2015.
Construction Update! We are making a push for the start of regular season. Depending on county inspections we should make it.
Posted by Dudley's Sport and Ale on Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Gardner told ARLnow that he still doesn’t have a firm opening date ready, though he hopes to have “a solid date after a big round of inspections next week.” As of late May, he was eyeing a grand opening sometime this month for the restaurant.
Most of the delays have been driven by wrangling with county inspectors over the bar’s planned steel rooftop, Gardner’s stressed in the past. He’s hoping to have 3,000 square feet of rooftop bar space to sit atop the 12,000-square-foot restaurant.
Gardner’s company also owns Copperwood Tavern in Shirlington and Irish Whiskey Public House in D.C.