A favorite band returns, and a landmark Arlington restaurant celebrates 42 years
42 years of J. Gilligan’s
Hey, Bud! Weren’t the Pengwins going to play J. Gilligan’s again?
—Somebody every few weeks
The eternal 1980s bar band The Pengwins reunites July 17 for the 42nd anniversary of J. Gilligan’s, 400 E. Abram St. They missed an earlier reunion because of the pandemic, or the winter freeze, or ... I forget. But they’re back this weekend, with front man-turned-philanthropist Alan Petsche and also with the Buddy Whittington band. Cheeseburger platters or potato-skin “Irish nachos” are $7.
Why isn’t that restaurant open?
Hey, Bud! I went to (name) restaurant and it wasn’t open. Did it close?
—More readers this week
Some restaurants took July Fourth week off for vacation. Quite a few are open shorter hours because they can’t hire enough staff. And others, like The Tavern, are remodeling. (Until The Tavern reopens, try the very similar new Towne Grill, 9365 Rain Lily Trail at Alliance Town Center.)
412 not 512, and 17 floors up
Hey, Bud! You said RTB and the Sinclair hotel were at 412 Main St. Isn’t that 512 Main St.?
—First-time caller
I hope everybody found RTB (“Roof Top Bar,”) the new 17th-floor hotel bar with a 360-degree view of downtown. It’s open Friday and Saturday nights so far.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
