Upscale Mini-Golf Bar Closes 7 Months After Opening In Navy Yard
An adults-only mini-golf concept steps from Nationals Park was a swing and a miss.
Swingers, a British-based company, has closed its location at 1250 Half St. SE just seven months after opening in March, Bisnow confirmed.
“After careful consideration, including various location factors that have impacted operations at the Navy Yard property, we have made the very difficult business decision to close our Navy Yard site,” a Swingers spokesperson told Bisnow in an email.
Local news blog Popville first reported the closure.
The eatertainment venue occupied 23K SF across two floors of the mixed-use building, which Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners delivered in 2020. The development spans an entire block and includes 312-unit apartment development The Kelvin and 127-unit condominium eNvy, in addition to retailers including newly opened Tom’s Watch Bar, Silver Diner and Kilwins.
“Swingers has made the decision to close their business and will be vacating the retail space in our building,” a spokesperson for Jair Lynch told Bisnow in an emailed statement. “We are actively seeking a new tenant but have nothing to share at this time.”
The brand will continue to operate its 20K SF Dupont Circle location, which opened in June 2021, the Swingers spokesperson said. It has two other locations in London and one in New York, and it expects to open locations in Dubai and Las Vegas in 2024.
It's unclear what location factors Swingers was referring to in its reason for closure, but retailers and developers in the area warned last year that foot traffic has fallen in step with the Washington Nationals' position in the standings, and they called for other draws besides the MLB team that finished in last place for the fourth straight year.
Swingers' closure isn't the only hiccup in Jair Lynch's efforts to fill 1250 Half St.'s anchor retail space. The space was originally leased to bowling bar Punch Bowl Social, but the deal fell apart after Punch Bowl filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2020.
KLNB leases the property, which has one other vacant retail space, a 3K SF storefront next to the F45 Training fitness concept.
