Inside Eighteenth Street Lounge’s Hotly Anticipated Comeback in Shaw | Eater DC
"I recall the cherished Dupont Circle club that ran for about 25 years and closed during the pandemic in mid-2020; it was a behemoth compared with the new Shaw location, famously packed with long lines to drink, dance, and catch multiple acts at once, and it played a key role in the city’s music scene — American electronic duo Thievery Corporation (Rob Garza and then-ESL co-owner Eric Hilton) famously formed there in the mid-’90s. The Dupont ESL lacked a kitchen, cultivated resident DJs and weekly attractions that helped catapult it to stardom (eclectic jazz, funk, Latin acts, reggae Wednesdays, house Sundays), and its identity was fiercely defended by owner Farid Nouri after it closed (he even confronted new occupants of the vacated space over a name dispute). Many of the original’s dramatic decorative elements — the deep violet velvet staircase, gilded-framed paintings, baroque couches, salvaged furniture, hand-carved benches, and antique chandeliers — were rescued and carried into the new incarnation." - Tierney Plumb
