George Washington Wept Here, but Tavern Is Forced to Close

A tavern where George Washington tearfully took leave of his officers in 1783 closed indefinitely on Monday, although the museum part of the building will remain open to the public.

Robert and Jacqueline Norden, the operators of the historic Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, are unable to agree on terms of a new lease with the building’s owner, the Sons of the Revolution, a patriotic not-for-profit organization that owns the tavern and the rights to its name. The Nordens said the restaurant-bar is losing money.

Among the oldest continually operated restaurants in the country, the tavern’s clubby bar--just down the street from Nasdaq headquarters--has been a hot spot for Wall Street brokers and financiers.

In 1975, an explosion at the tavern killed four people and injured 60. A Puerto Rican nationalist group took responsibility for the attack on a site they associated with America’s identity.

The yellow brick colonial was opened in the 1760s by Washington’s chief steward, a patriot named Samuel Fraunces.

The tavern later housed the administrative offices of the new nation, when New York was its capital.

“More than a place to drink!” says a sign.

On Monday in the Long Room, a fake turkey lay on a platter and clams on a plate.

The Sons of the Revolution say that they’re looking for a new tenant and that the tavern could reopen sometime this year.