Bunker Closes Due to Massive Flooding, Will Reopen Aug. 8
The popular gay dance club seeks to rebound after a faulty sprinkler head caused flooding and "significant" damage to equipment.
Bunker, the LGBTQ subterranean nightclub at 14th and U Streets NW, was forced to close earlier this week after a faulty sprinkler system from the sandwich shop above the club led to widespread flooding and water damage.
“Very early Sunday morning, our fire alarm company contacted us,” Zach Renovátes, one of Bunker’s co-owners told Metro Weekly. “Given that the sprinkler system was going off in the building, my bar manager quickly arrived on site, let the fire company in, and they determined that there was a sprinkler head malfunction in Subway.”
“It was pumping hundreds of gallons of water into the club, which was coming through the floor of Subway and into our facility. So they turned off the water, but actually didn’t turn it off all the way, so it needed to be turned off a little more after we asked them multiple times. It was finally completely turned off about an hour after it began. So if you can imagine an hour of a sprinkler head, from a facility above us, running nonstop — it caused significant damage inside Bunker.”
Renovátes said the club was able to get a “water mitigation team” inside to help clean up the water and dry everything out. The team also removed the ceiling, several soaked lighting fixtures, and damaged equipment.
“It is now completely dry, which is fantastic,” Renovátes said. “So now the ceiling can go back. And we have an excellent team of contractors, who are literally ready to get the ceiling put back and painted. We have a team of audio and visual companies that we work with, who are also on tap, as soon as the ceiling gets put back in place within the next few days, to get the new lighting equipment reinstalled.”
Renovátes couldn’t give an exact cost of the renovations but described the damage as “significant.” Luckily, he noted, some of the cost will be covered by insurance. Unfortunately, the weeklong closure has cost Bunker business, as the dance club is typically only open from Thursdays through Sundays.
“We tried to make some fun content about it on social media, just to give people awareness of the fact that, yes, indeed, there was a flood,” he said. “We’re not making it up, and we’re working on fixing it, getting back to opening for all of our happy customers next week.”
News of the flooding spread on social media, with some loyal customers expressing sadness over the damage and the club’s temporary closure.
NOT BUNKER FLOODING 😭 pic.twitter.com/6Os767m0Lo
— Spencer Allan Brooks (@SpencerSays) August 1, 2024
Once all repairs are finished, to celebrate its reopening for business, Bunker will host a “Thirsty Thursday Swimsuit Party” on Thursday, August 8, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., featuring music by DJ Dez Jordan. There will be no cover at the door and a free coat check, with a $1 vodka-and-water drink promotion from 10 p.m. to midnight.
“We’re basically poking fun at the fact that it was, quite literally, raining inside,” Renovátes said. “We really want the community to come in and know, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re back. And we’re not going anywhere.'”
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