A popular restaurant that was considered a local staple is closing in McLean. Clyde’s of Tysons Corner, which for thirty-six years has served as a local venue for birthday celebrations, bar/bat mitzvahs, prom parties, and other festivities, will shutter on February 5th. The eatery is being demolished to make way for the enormous Tysons Center project.
Clyde’s of Tysons Corner is owned by Clyde’s Restaurant Group, which owns several other restaurants in the Greater D.C. region, including Old Ebbitt Grill, The Hamilton, 1789 Restaurant, The Tombs and nine other Clyde’s locations. The Tysons Corner Clyde’s location was the group’s first restaurant. Tom Meyer, Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s president, called the decision to close “difficult,” and said in a statement that, “The right decision is often the hardest.” Current employees of the Tysons Corner Clyde’s will be offered positions with other chain locations in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.
Clyde’s was known for its upscale roadhouse feel. The restaurant hosted many a power lunch in its day, along with tasty brunches, happy hours, and lots of special events. Meyer, in an interview with the Washington Business Journal, called Clyde’s “very tony and fancy” and commented that “A lot of people had some very fun times there.”
Clyde’s of Tysons Corner is distinguished inside by its abundance of palm trees and a decor style that the McLean Patch described as “eclectic.” The centerpiece is the Palm Terrace fountain, “a hand-sculpted fountain produced in 1939 by George Stanley, the artist known for designing the Oscar statue and the famed stone figures on the Hollywood Bowl.” Clyde’s features four dining rooms and two kitchens to accommodate diners, and has earned three stars from almost three hundred reviewers on Yelp.
Tysons Central is set to be a 5.79-acre, 2 million-square-foot project. There will be approximately 82,000 square feet of retail space. It will consist of six new buildings situated atop a single parking structure. The project is the fruit of a partnership between NV Commercial and Clyde’s Restaurant Group. The first building, a 398-unit condo development called Lumen at Tysons, has already broken ground. Lumen is being developed by Lennar Multifamily Communities. It will be 32 stories tall and include 17,000 square feet of retail at its base.
Also coming to Tysons Center: a state-of-the-art, 25-story office tower being built by the Foulger-Pratt firm and designed by Gensler. The office tower will include 25,000 square feet of retail space at street level fronting the Greensboro Metro station.
It is expected that Clyde’s will open a new location at Tysons Center. Read more about the development project here.
(Image (c) Clyde's Restaurant Group.)
