WASHINGTON 鈥� Wearing a plaid bucket hat and a short-sleeve button-up shirt, Mike Filipczyk leans over the bar and places a pint of light beer in front of Alberto Paredes.
鈥淗ow鈥檚 your dog?鈥� Filipczyk asks.
Paredes, 46, whips out his phone, scrolls through photos and launches into a series of stories about the newest four-legged member of his family.
In an era where craft cocktails, celebrity chefs and 鈥渁rtisanal鈥� everything dominate the D.C. dining scene, it鈥檚 hard to find a watering hole where comfort comes in the form of a bottle of Bud, a basket of onion rings and a bartender who knows your name. But at Carpool in Arlington, Virginia, that is exactly what鈥檚 on the menu 鈥� at least for a few more weeks.
Carpool, which opened in 1995, is one of the few remaining establishments of a bygone Ballston. The one-story sports bar, stocked with pool tables, sports paraphernalia and antique gas station signs, was once a focal point on the busy stretch of Fairfax Drive that runs between the Ballston and Virginia Square Metro stations.
Now, offices and apartments tower above it. Soon, new construction will replace it.
In 2014, development company Penzance bought the bar鈥檚 adjacent building with the option to acquire the Carpool property. In 2016, the sale was completed and plans to replace the bar with a , retail space and underground parking were announced. Carpool is expected to serve its last drinks in April, reports. 聽
Filipczyk, who has worked as a bartender at Carpool for more than 21 years, says the neighborhood has changed 鈥渄rastically鈥� since he arrived on the job.
鈥淚t鈥檚 high-rise after high-rise,鈥� said 59-year-old Filipczyk, who added that there鈥檚 also been an influx of bars and restaurants. 鈥淭he neighborhood has shifted a lot.鈥�
The change, however, has not deterred customers from visiting Carpool. If anything, it鈥檚 kept them coming back.
鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 kind of like high school homeroom. Everybody knows everyone,鈥� said Paredes, a general contractor who grew up three blocks away from the bar and has been a regular since it opened.
When Paredes moved back to the area after spending eight years in south Florida, Carpool felt less like homeroom and more like home.
鈥淚 found that the more things change, the more they stay the same,鈥� he said referring to the high-rises that moved in and the friends that moved away while he was gone. 鈥淏ut Carpool is always Carpool. It鈥檚 just one of the most comfortable bars I鈥檝e ever been to in my life.鈥�
It鈥檚 no secret that Filipczyk is one of the reasons the bar is so beloved. General manager Jorge Carcamo says he would lose at least 10 percent of his business if he ever fired Filipczyk.
This summer, a handful of the bar鈥檚 regulars got together and purchased a guitar for Filipczyk鈥檚 impending retirement. Carcamo estimates the instrument cost $5,000.
鈥淓verybody loves Mike. People follow him wherever he goes,鈥� Carcamo said.
Curt McSweeny is one of those people. The former Californian moved to Arlington two years ago and quickly found familiarity, thanks to a warm welcome from Filipczyk. Their relationship has morphed beyond the bar: The two became friends and even catch concerts together at Wolftrap.
McSweeny says he pops into the bar two or three times a week for about an hour. He comes for the conversation; the beer is just a bonus.
鈥淚t really is just to see these guys. I can have beer anywhere, but I really enjoy their company 鈥� so I choose to walk a block and a half and pay for it,鈥� McSweeny said.
Filipczyk has been in the hospitality industry for decades. Before pouring drinks at Carpool, he owned a semi-fine-dining restaurant in Woodbridge, Virginia, which he eventually sold to his partners.
鈥淭hen I came up here, I took off my suit and my tie, put on jeans and a T-shirt and tripled my income,鈥� Filipczyk said, referring to Carpool鈥檚 packed happy hours in its first few years of business.
鈥淚 would come at 5 o鈥檆lock and by 5:30, it鈥檇 be four-deep at the bar Thursday and Friday. There weren鈥檛 as many [bars and restaurants] then,鈥� he said.
Despite the changes that have taken place around town, Carpool has remained true to its identity. Several TVs air different sports games above the bar, which is lined with stacks of clean glasses and ketchup bottles. The food isn鈥檛 fancy. Paredes says, if he鈥檚 being honest, it isn鈥檛 even very good.
鈥淭he wings are OK,鈥� he added.
But that鈥檚 not why the neighborhood鈥檚 residents and nearby employees flood the bar as soon as they punch out from their professional lives.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just the camaraderie 鈥� and the group of people that hang out here are just really quality people. You have everyone from lawyers to bankers, I鈥檓 a general contractor, and we all get along. It鈥檚 just a great time,鈥� Paredes said.
Carpool鈥檚 owners have a second location in Herndon, Virginia, and plan to relocate the Arlington bar to a 7,839-square-foot space in Fairfax County鈥檚 Fair Lakes area .
Filipczyk says the owners are also scouting out a few more options for additional outposts. And while no new bar will replace the original, visitors will likely see a familiar face or two when they belly up to the bar and order a beer. 聽
鈥淚鈥檇 like to tell you I鈥檓 ready to retire. I鈥檓 only 59 and a half, so I鈥檝e still got a few more years to work,鈥� Filipczyk said.
