Cornerstone Grill and Loft will reopen today after suffering extensive vandalism earlier this month, the bar’s owner said.
The bar has been closed since Aug. 3, when employees found destroyed glassware and liquor bottles, taps broken open and a burned bar top, said Mark Srour, who owns Cornerstone and two other downtown bars, The Mark and Santa Fe Café.
Srour said someone broke into Cornerstone during the night, threw six chairs behind the bar, broke liquor bottles over the bar top and then set it on fire. He estimated total damages at $200,000 plus lost business.
Srour said security cameras caught views of a man trying to break into Cornerstone. Prince George’s County Police could not be reached for comment on the investigation.
Srour described an extensive cleanup process that included many days of around-the-clock restorative work on the entire premises.
“It’s basically like taking everything down, cleaning it or painting it or getting a new one,” he said. Srour added that, among other things, workers had to disassemble and reassemble the bar’s ducts and sound system.
Srour also said it was unfortunate to have Cornerstone – which he said has long been a popular place to watch sporting events – closed during this year’s “incredible” Olympics.
Although he said the bar will re-open tonight, some work still needs to be done, as “a lot of things are on order.” For example, early customers will have to make do with a repaired bar top and temporary lighting until replacements arrive and are installed.
An added incentive to return to Cornerstone, Srour pointed out, is that as a result of his extensive cleanup effort, the bar is “100 percent clean,” with everything freshly replaced or wiped down.
While Cornerstone was closed, Srour said he thought all the other downtown bars “reaped a little bit of benefit” in increased business and, despite a sign encouraging patrons to visit Srour’s Santa Fe Café, many patrons simply went next door to R.J. Bentley’s. He said he hopes he hasn’t lost their loyalty.
“I hope people have missed the Cornerstone and will come back and support us again,” he said.
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