Today marks 10 inglorious years of Barred in DC (this website, Twitter, moribund Facebook, and an Instagram account that started in Jan 2020)

Here’s a quick retrospective that is self-aggrandizing/vain, and mostly for my own edification so I can keep track in future. Thanks for following and reading – 1 million hits, 46k Twitter followers, nearly 10k Instagram followers later

Feb 26, 2013-first friend focus group (first ideas for names: “Nearly Every Bar in DC” or “365 Places to Drink in DC”). Mrs. Barred soon comes up with “Barred in DC”

March 6, 2013: Barred in DC launches – the original logo was literally just a screenshot of how the title of the site looked using the original wordpress theme.

March 8, 2013: The First Barred in DC photo tweeted

October 20, 2013: First big breaking news by Barred in DC. The Washington Post credits me later the same week , which was huge.

May 2, 2015: Still the most viewed day in Barred in DC’s history – 15k hits – this was the day of highly anticipated Mayweather – Pacquiao fight. My post with details about all the bars showing it – still with the Barred in DC record traffic (41,022 hits). We ended up watching at Purple Patch – Filipino spot which had recently opened and is still standing.

November 3, 2015: The First Barred in DC Twitter Poll is posted

May 7, 2016: Barred in DC becomes no longer anonymous by debunking “FOIAcakes”

May 10, 2016: Approximately when “POLL -” starts before each Barred in DC Twitter poll.

Dec. 31, 2017: Hit 4,000 Twitter followers

July 10, 2018: Then-Post reporter Lavanya Ramanathan interviews me for a story about the end of the intern bars. I get to be quoted forever saying ““Intern bars were meat-markety … Sticky floors — that was always a thing.”

May 23, 2019: I go on the legendary The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU, along with Shawn Townsend, the first ever DC Director of the Office of Nightlife and Culture (aka “Night Mayor”)

Sept 30, 2019: Hit 8,000 Twitter followers

January 2020: Announced a collaboration with Mike Stein of Lost Lagers to brew a Barred in DC Beer using Twitter polls at Right Proper with Bobby Bump. “Beered in DC” saison brewed in February for a March 21st release party. Sadly that does not happen. But the beer gets released in bottle form, which is awesome.

March 14, 2020: Just a couple days before DC restaurants/bars are shut down for 10 weeks, post this kind of silly tweet in retrospect. The next day, 10,000 Twitter followers are hit, then quadrupled in 3 years. The next year involves being interviewed by most of DC local news stations over Zoom plus livetweeting’s Mayoral press conference, posting weekly vaccine data, and stuff I definitely never thought I would do (didn’t goto a single bar for 13 months)

November 2020: Barred in DC makes the Washington City Paper’s People Issue

January 7, 2020: After the January 6th riot/insurrection, the “Porch Guy” goes viral and I figure out who he is by use of Google Streetview and Google and I email him, and end up doing journalism by interviewing him. Second most popular post ever:

February 2021: Washington Post publishes what I would do in a day in DC..

March 6, 2023: Highlights from 10 year anniversary party, about 50 folks showed up at All Souls, and particular thanks to Richard Bianco for contributing for $500 bar tab.

SUPERLATIVES

Most Popular Posts Ever

Most Popular Tweets

Most Famous Followers:

• Kaitlan Collins – 1.4 million followers (CNN reporter)
• Kara Swisher – 1.4 million followers (famous tech person/journalist)
• Jose Andres – 1.2 million followers (you know)
• Maureen Dowd – 670k followers (NYT op-ed person)