Bethesda restaurant Tyber Bierhaus has become St. Arnold’s Mussel Bar.
Tyber Bierhaus transitioned to St. Arnold’s in late February, with co-founders Mark Moore and Paul Uppole deciding to switch from German fare to their popular Belgian concept.
The restaurant, at 7525 Old Georgetown Road, is one of three St. Arnold’s in the Washington area. The others are in the District.
“It never caught on,” Moore said. “We just realized that it wasn’t ever going to catch on without infusing ridiculous amounts of money. You can’t just make people come to stuff.”
Moore said he and Uppole love the Tyber Bierhaus concept and would like to bring it back somewhere, just not in the Bethesda area.
St. Arnold’s carries 20 types of mussels to go with more than 40 types of Belgian beers, along with wine and Belgian cocktails.
The food menu focuses on the traditional Belgian fare of mussels and frites, but also includes sandwiches, beef and chicken entrees, and other seafood.
There are 20 mussels and frites options, all running around $20. The from-the-grill entrees are a few dollars less, and the sandwiches are around $12.
Happy hour runs from 4-7 p.m. at the Bethesda location, along with brunch every weekend from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Moore said the more narrow St. Arnold’s concept will help with marketing and advertising, especially with the focus on the patron saint of beer.
“He believed in a sense of community,” Moore said of St. Arnold. “His famous quote, and it’s on our t-shirts, is ‘from the sweat of man and God’s love, beer came into existence.’ … Beer fosters community.”
St. Arnold’s will not have a grand opening, but the founders are planning some sort of celebration to introduce the restaurant, which has yet to be scheduled.
Moore said if St. Arnold’s is successful, the owners would like to open more in the county, but the focus is to get the Bethesda location going first.