Tune Inn Has Been Tuned Up

No! Not the Tune Inn!  Back in June, that was the reaction when the news spread that the Tune Inn had been damaged in a kitchen fire.

No one who lives and works, or used to live and work on the Hill could imagine a Hill without the Tune Inn.
 
The Tune Inn has been a fixture on Pennsylvania Avenue, NE for decades.  It's legendary.  And I'm so glad that it's reopening tomorrow.

For the last four months, the Tune Inn has been getting spruced up.  The owner, who is the third generation of her family to own and operate the Tune Inn, said that she's taken care to renovate in a way that her dad and granddad would have liked.

Yeah! It's back!

From what I've heard and am seeing in pictures, it looks largely the same.  The two biggest differences seem to be the loss of one of the stuffed deer butts that adorn the wall above the restrooms, and it seems shiny.  Can it be the Tune Inn if it's shiny?  Part of what added to the charm of the place was the layer of smoke and grime that had built up on the walls over the years.  Now, with the smoking ban in DC restaurants, I doubt that that same grime will ever get built up again.

Nearly everyone has a story about the Tune Inn.  Heck, Guy Fieri taped an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives here.  You can find that video here:

Yes, it was a dive, and that's what was/is so great about it.  In a town like DC, where everyone cares about your title, and if the title isn't "right", on to the next person, this place offered a breath of fresh air.  It's one of the most unpretentious places in DC.  A huge display of taxidermy on the walls, layers of smoke and grime, dim lighting.  And it's where I first met my husband.

Yep, Darren and I met on New Years Eve, 2000, at a party at the Tune Inn.  A friend of mine from the Hill was hosting a party at the Tune Inn.  I went, but Darren hadn't planned to go.  He had just flown in from Texas.  After lengthy flight delays due to snow, he had rented some movies (The Patriot, I think?) and was going to sit home alone and crash.

A friend of his called him up, called him every name in the book, and said "It's New Years Eve. Come on!"

Darren only lived a few blocks away so he listened to his friend, and came out.  I was talking to this friend as Darren walked in, and that was that.  Somewhere, I have a picture of us from that night.  As soon as I find it, I'll post it here.

Updated: I knew I had it somewhere!  Here we are, just hours into what is about to head into its second decade: