Whiskey & Oyster to close Feb. 28, ending five-year run

HomeGrown Restaurant Group cites lease renewal as reason for shuttering the seafood and spirits spot

Whiskey & Oyster, the seafood and spirits restaurant at 301 John Carlyle St., will permanently close its doors Feb. 28, the owner announced Wednesday in a video posted to the restaurant’s Instagram page.

Mike “Mango” Anderson, who heads the HomeGrown Restaurant Group, said the decision came as the restaurant’s lease came up for renewal.

“We have decided not to renew the lease here at Whiskey and Oyster,” Anderson said in the video. “This has been another chapter in our restaurant life in Alexandria and we’re just going to move on.”

The restaurant opened in 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the hospitality industry. Anderson credited loyal customers and staff for helping sustain the business through difficult years but said the time had come to move on.

“We’ve been blessed with some terrific staff, a great management team and some very loyal customers over the years,” he said.

Whiskey & Oyster is the latest in a long line of Alexandria dining ventures for Anderson, who said HomeGrown has operated 15 restaurants in the city since opening Shooter McGee’s in 1979.

The group’s remaining Alexandria locations — Sweet Fire Donna’s, Tequila & Taco, Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow and the DRPB themed cocktail pop-up bar, will remain open. Anderson noted that guests holding Whiskey & Oyster gift certificates may redeem them at Sweet Fire Donna’s or Tequila & Taco.

“We’re going to be around,” Anderson said. “This is just another chapter in our restaurant life in Alexandria.”