Posted by Steve Kiviat – Washington City Paper
You wouldn’t have known it at the time, but if you were at Zanzibar on the Waterfront last weekend for the Howard Homecoming event hosted by Erykah Badu, you were there for the venue’s last hurrah. It’s now closed for business.
Salsa dance instructor Eileen Torres found out Monday night from Zanzibar’s management; she informed her mailing list the next day. Her “Tribute to Salsa Choreographers” was scheduled for last night on one level of the three-story, 1,700-capacity building. Now she’s looking for another spot.
The club’s closing is likely linked to the city’s plans to redevelop the Southwest waterfront into a more tourist-friendly destination. The project, helmed by the firms PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette, is slated to contain 14 acres of parks, 780,000 square feet of office, cultural and retail space, as well as 1,000 housing units. In September, The Washington Post reported:
Construction will require the displacement or demolition of several waterfront businesses that held 99-year leases, including Gangplank’s neighbor, the Capital Yacht Club; the 100-room Channel Inn; the Zanzibar nightclub; and Phillips Seafood Restaurant.
A deal for Zanzibar, a 26,000-square-foot club known for its hip-hop, Caribbean, African and salsa music, could be finished in the coming weeks, Hoffman said. It will eventually be torn down, and its owners might be offered a smaller space for a more low-key jazz club.
But Michel Daley, one of Zanzibar’s co-owners, said nothing is final.
“This has been a very arduous negotiation and Hoffman has been offering a take-it-or-leave-it scenario, so we’re not sure,” he said Friday.