Meet me at Martins
Any regular to Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown knows that every booth has a history to it (think John F. Kennedy proposing to Jackie). But as the restaurant celebrates its 75th anniversary, we wanted to hear the juicy stories that aren’t as well known.
We caught up with the fourth-generation owner, Billy Martin IV, over some Welsh rarebit Wednesday night, as the watering hole held its anniversary celebration for valued regulars and friends.
One story involves President Lyndon Johnson and then-House Speaker Sam Rayburn, who often joined Martin’s grandfather in the backroom nicknamed the “dugout” (after Martin the Second’s first career as a professional baseball player). Martin told us how Rayburn and LBJ were dugout regulars. One night, Rayburn attempted to tell a story to Martin’s young son, but kept being interrupted by the president. Rayburn finally yelled, “Johnson, if you just shut up, he might learn something.”
Martin touched on everything from making moonshine during Prohibition to shuffling diners down a hatch door during an after-hours police raid to when Redskins Hall of Famer John Riggins — picture “fur coat” and “Scotch”— wanted a bigger steak knife. “I came back with a huge serrated kitchen knife as a joke,” said Martin. “Well he grabbed it, put it up his friend’s throat and said, ‘Now that’s what I call a knife.’ ”
But with the smile that came across Martin’s face, it became clear that his favorite interactions are less political and more about the famous beauties that have visited his Irish pub. “One time David Copperfield and Claudia Schiffer ate here in the back,” Martin began with a grin. “So I went to the back and asked [the magician], ‘David, show me a trick. Do you think you can make yourself disappear?’ He wasn’t too happy about that.” And just last week Brooke Shields came in for lunch.
Martin hopes the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. restores the tradition of presidents dining at Martin’s. Every president since Truman has stopped in, except for one. That would be George W. Bush — but then again, he didn’t seem to get out much.
