The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 [1] through January 7, 1982. It occupied the location of a former music club called The Shadows.
One of the premier music spots in Washington, D.C., the small club served as the genesis for entertainers and as a tryout venue for larger markets.[2] Many artists cut their professional teeth performing at The Cellar Door, while audiences delighted in being within a few feet of the stage at the tiny venue. Many music and comedy notables in 1960s and 1970s performed there.[3][4]
John Denver[10] (He sang his "Leaving, On A Jet Plane" there prior to being released by Peter, Paul and Mary. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was sung for the general public for the first time anywhere at the club on December 30, 1970.)
Gram Parsons (Performed with a backing band at The Cellar Door. At the time, looking for a female vocalist for duets, his bandmates ran across Emmylou Harris at a small neighboring bar performing cover songs. Their introduction was the real start of Harris' career and a boost for Parsons' act.)
Some music was written on site. Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (as Fat City) opened for John Denver in December 1970. Late one night, Denver helped finish writing a song that Danoff and Nivert had started. They debuted "Take Me Home, Country Roads" on December 30, 1970.[19]
In January 1981, The Cellar Door was sold for an undisclosed sum to Paul Kurtz and Howard Bomstein from Washington, D.C.[10] Ultimately, the club was closed down by the Washington, D.C. fire marshal after numerous warnings. Licensed for 163 seats, it had occasionally admitted more than 200 people SRO. Also, the books for liquor sales were allegedly being done improperly: so instead of making money, a fair amount of money was being lost unbeknownst to the club owners.
The Cellar Door Nightclub was a partnership between Jack Boyle and Sam L'Hommedieu Jr. The pair also owned two other popular Georgetown nightspots, The Crazy Horse and The Bayou, as well as The Stardust, a music club in Waldorf, Maryland. They went on to found Cellar Door Productions, which became the largest concert promoter from BaltimoretoFlorida, with offices in Washington D.C., Ft. Lauderdale FL, Myrtle Beach, SC, and Detroit. Bill Reid was president of Cellar Door Productions from 1983 until his firing in 1997.[20] The Cellar Door Cos. were sold to SFX Entertainment in 1999.[21] Cellar Door developed the Nissan Pavilion concert venue,[3] now called the Jiffy Lube Live, west of Washington, DC.[3] The mailing address of Jiffy Lube Live (now owned by Live Nation) is 7800 Cellar Door Drive. As well as Virginia Beach's Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at 3550 Cellar Door Dr, VB,VA.
Boyle continued with SFX after it was purchased by Clear Channel Entertainment and is now retired. L'Hommedieu managed the Warner Theatre (Washington, D.C.) during the 1980s.
When the Cellar Door ceased operating, a comedy club was announced as the next tenant. However, mayor Marion Barry learned that Mafia money was involved, and decided not to grant a liquor license. A few years later, Cafe Seynabou, a restaurant featuring the cuisine of Senegal, opened at the site, but it closed within 24 months. It stayed vacant for quite some time after that. It eventually hosted the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory until May 2009, then Capriotti's Sandwich Shop in 2014.[22]
In 2017, Starbucks announced plans to take over the vacant 2,600-square-foot space.[23] Alec Berkman, BISNOW national contributor reported on July 17, 2017 that before its summer break, in June, the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission approved design plans for a Starbucks store. The commission was initially opposed to Starbucks’ signage. However, its opposition was reversed when Starbucks corporate gave a commitment to honor the Cellar Door by exhibiting photos of the many entertainment acts that appeared at the venue over its years of operation at the historic location.[24]
