GT
Observer
Compiled by Garrett Faulkner and Sumih Chi
Unfurl the sails: Georgetown plays host to revamped Yacht Club Tommy the Matchmaker
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ou’ve navigated through your 20s and most of your 30s. You’re smart, successful and you live in Georgetown to boot. You are also, you can’t help noticing, very available. Have you been matched yet? If not, or if you’ve endured your share of unsuccessful set-ups, it’s a good bet you haven’t yet run across Tommy “The Matchmaker” Curtis, the droll and garrulous social sage whose swank parties at Bethesda’s Yacht Club
have become somewhat of a legend across Washington for their seemingly magical ability to pair up 30-somethings looking for love — and keep them hooked. “Online [dating sites] are great … but they never take the place of the immediacy of a night club,” says Curtis, who ran his weekend matchup soirees in a basement room at the Holiday Inn in Bethesda for 17 years. Wave aside any scent of kitsch, though — the parties were known to be the real deal, attracting waves of middle-aged lonely hearts looking to break the ice, with a little help from Tommy, of course. A socialite since his college days at Yale, Curtis proved so adept at making introductions that his nightly mixers quickly exploded into a citywide phenom, prompting several features in The Washington Post (which likened the Yacht Club to “‘Cheers’ with sex”) and Washingtonian magazine’s bestowal of the title “maestro of dating.” The epithets are hardly hyperbole, though: to date, Curtis boasts responsibility for an impressive 181 introductions resulting in marriage. “I call them 181 home runs,” he says, adding that he’s also batted plenty of doubles, that is, pairings which didn’t quite work out in the end but still enjoyed a good run. Curtis started out as a disc jockey on WMAL 107.3 (now The Mix) in the ’80s, honing his match-up skills at the now defunct Annie Oakley’s bar on M Street. One night in 1989, unable to find a 30-something hangout while on a date
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4 May 19, 2010 gmg, Inc.
of his own, he conceived of the Yacht Club and convinced the Holiday Inn owners to let him set up shop below deck. It was an immediate hit for singles and couples alike (in fact, nearly half the attendees already came with plus-ones). In 2006, nearly two boisterous decades later, the ownership changed hands and the hotel was closed for renovation, and with it the Yacht Club. For many, the party seemed over, an era ended. Curtis, however, was hardly fazed, promising to be back at the first opportunity. Boy, did he make good on that. After a short stint in Beverly Hills (where he nearly lost his life in a car accident), Curtis has returned to Georgetown, Yacht Club in tow. The first meet-and-greet (according to Curtis, a term he coined himself) will convene June 5 at the Holiday Inn on Wisconsin Avenue, continuing Saturday nights thereafter. Once the gears are in motion, the Matchmaker expects to expand to Fridays. He has high aspirations the new digs will become even more of a 30-plus locus than before. “From lots of standpoints, Georgetown is the center of it all,” he says. “Would the Georgetown bluebloods go to Bethesda? Not as much as Bethesda comes to Georgetown.” He believes the village’s “moneyed demographic” — affluent, outgoing Georgetowners aged 35-55 — will take to the match-up party redux with particular gusto, if the hype over the recently reopened “Social Safeway” is any indicator. Though the D.C. institution has been through its share of dire straits, the Matchmaker is eager to get back to what he does best: prowling the dance floor, microphone in hand, chatting it up
with friends and throwing a few have-you-metso-and-sos to the shy. “I lost my bow and arrow for a couple years,” Curtis says. Welcome back, Cupid. Whether you’re single or taken, reservations for the new Yacht Club’s opening night can be had by calling 301-656-2545. Space is very limited.
Washington Harbour up for sale
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ccording to the Washington Business Journal, MRP Reality is under contract to buy the Washington Harbour from Prudential Real Estate Investors, sources involved in the sale say. MRP Reality is said to buy the property for more than $240 million, which includes 3000 and 3050 K St. MRP and Prudential would not comment on the sale. In 2004, Prudential paid $220 million for the waterfront property, according to land records. In March, the company put the property back on the market. The deal is expected to close by month’s end. Currently acquiring the property are 10 retailers and 12 tenants.