Correction appended
Froggy Bottom Pub will move one block north of the campus landmark’s Pennsylvania Avenue home Feb. 1.
The bar and restaurant’s fate became uncertain after GW announced plans in November to demolish seven properties along the block in 2014 to create office space. Owner Hien Bui said she placed a security deposit for the 2021 K St. site Friday, securing the space as Froggy’s new home.
“It’s about time to change, and as long as the Frog is the Frog, it won’t be as hard as we think,” Bui said. “It will be a local bar to serve the community and college. It won’t be as dingy as this place, but it will still have the relaxing atmosphere, like you feel you are in your mom’s kitchen.”
With half-priced pizza and beer specials every Monday, Froggy has become a campus staple.
The traditional college pub atmosphere will carry over to the new location, along with the classic menu options like pho, burgers, pizza and cheap beer, Bui said. The lunchtime will see expanded offerings, like steak and salmon.
“At lunchtime we want to appeal to businesspeople, but at night we want to appeal to the college crowd,” Bui said, adding that the only adjustment for students would be “a new table and a new chair.”
The Buis bought the nearly three-decade-old college bar in 1999 with fewer than $10,000 in their savings account, after taking out a loan on their home and borrowing money from friends.
Junior Catherine Sangster said eating a final meal at Froggy’s Pennsylvania Avenue location is on her bucket list of to-dos before the summer’s end, as she plans to study abroad this fall. She said she even took her parents to the pub during Colonials Weekend.
“After being a frequent Froggy customer since I got to GW, it is a place that makes GW feel like home to me,” Sangster said. “I’m really looking forward to coming back after my abroad experience and seeing what they will have done with the new location, and all the new students that will appreciate Froggy as much as I do.”
Graduate student Jason Lifton, who also earned his bachelor’s degree from GW in 2011, called Froggy “as much a staple of GW’s campus as the Marvin Center or Thurston Hall” and said he is relieved the new location is nearby.
“Since [Froggy’s] new location is only a block or so north of where they are currently located, I have no fear that Hien and Juan Bui will continue to keep GW students fed and happy far into the future,” he said.
This post was updated Sept. 20, 2012 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Froggy Bottom Pub would relocate to 2120 K St. It will move to 2021 K St.
