The Burger King on Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness, known for its '80s and '90s movie memorabilia and more recently for being the only publicly accessible Burger King location in D.C., permanently closed its doors over the weekend after more than 40 years.
While talk of closing the location has been going on for years, the closure itself appears to have been sudden. A list of holiday hours on the location's doors included New Year's Day from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.. By New Year's Day during its planned business hours, however, staff had posted a sign next to the holiday hours announcing the location's closure.
Article continues belowSo long to a DC legend. Signs on the doors say the only publicly accessible Burger King in the District (and likely the only one in the world with 80s movie decor) has closed permanently. (4422 Connecticut Ave.) pic.twitter.com/muUqx8BT99
— Forest Hills Connection (@foresthillsnews) January 1, 2023A Burger King spokesperson confirmed the closure with DCist/WAMU in an email Tuesday and said that affected staff have offers at other Burger King locations. The spokesperson said there are currently no plans for what to do with the movie memorabilia — which included E.T. and friends flying on their bikes and the head of the Jaws shark bursting from the wall. It did not specify why the location was closed.
When the Burger King opened in 1980, it was the first fast food restaurant on Connecticut Avenue in the District. It survived pushback from some of the neighborhood's more affluent residents, who said the affordable restaurant would draw "low-class people" and "loitering." There were also concerns that the drive-thru could endanger pedestrians.
The Burger King franchise's owner, Mark James, said in 2018 the site was too expensive to run. But he later shifted gears, announcing plans to renovate the building in 2020, saying it was "dilapidated," before saying again the following year that the business may have to go.
As all that went on, Chick-fil-A also made a yearslong push to move to the site — one that was ultimately unsuccessful, again due to drive-thru issues. The fried chicken restaurant is instead opening a kiosk at the UDC Student Center nearby, one still listed as "coming soon" on its website. As of now, there is no apparent successor to the two storied 5200 sq foot site.
The restaurant's closure leaves one Burger King in the District, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but it's not accessible to the general public.
This story originally appeared on dcist.com.
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