Honoring Richard McCooey (1930-2014) - Legendary DC Restaurateur

[Kibbee Nayee]

Sorry if already posted, but an old friend passed away in August.

I knew Richard back in the '80s when he still owned F. Scott's, The Tombs and 1789. He told me at the time that he sold the restaurants to Clyde's (in 1986) because someone mentioned to him in passing that the liability for restaurant customers getting drunk and driving was on the rise, so he decided to sell and seek another way to spend his time. His vast collection of prints, which were stored in flat files in the basement of his beautiful Georgetown townhouse (at that time) were what fueled his next career move -- decorating restaurants. You'll see some of his prints on the walls of the various Clyde's restaurants....like the hunting scene on the back wall in Reston, and the Georgetown Crew prints in the bar at Reston. Details like the lighting of the prints in most of the Clyde's restaurants, or the silver plated screws that bolt down the boat-tie cleats at Clyde's Mark Center, are all Richard's doing.

I have a few of his baseball prints hanging in my baseball room. We stopped seeing each other a few years ago after my divorce -- his wife and my ex were very close, so I lost Richard in the divorce. He will be missed.