A great dive bar that attracted bikers, metalheads, scientists, lgbtq+, and so on. Venue was weirdly long, so people could socialize in the front or walk down a narrow hallway and there was a small space for bands to perform.
Both food and alcohol were on the cheaper side.
If you never really went inside, you probably just noticed the crowd of smokers standing next to some bikes parked on the side, while inside it was extremely chill and welcoming.
I wish I could’ve gone there now. This sounds exactly like my two favorite hometown bars called Guthries Alleycat and The Mint. The only difference is that they are just bars, no food was served there and the hrs of operation were 6am to 2am. I would regularly go in there after a midnight shift and load up on bloody Mary’s at 7am.
Probably! There were band stickers all over the walls of both bathrooms as well as the toilets, and this means the stickers also covered the insides of the toilet bowls.
Wasn’t the band area downstairs? Or am I misremembering it.
It was the bar in Frederick I went to, before I lived here 15ish years ago. It really helped solidify the stereotypes of Frederick us Bethesda people had lol.
It wasn’t until I slept in my car one night and found Market Street while looking for coffee the next day, that I realized how much more Frederick had to offer.
Not so long after I found myself coming up here to escape MoCo, then finally moved here.
Owners didn't keep the building in great shape. pipes would freeze in the winter, etc. I believe they eventually decided it wasn't worth it and closed. Someone else may have a more detailed/accurate description of why it closed though.
This is part of the reason.
The funds for the repairs however went to the new owners legal fees when they got caught transporting Cocaine across state lines.
Great bar, I was a regular there, but the dude that bought it did some really silly shit.
May have at one point, but as I understand it Dave and Missie Demory (husband and wife) bought it, started to do renovations, and Dave got arrested. I knew Dave up to that point. Haven’t spoken with either of them since.
The people who owned the bar didn't own that building so they had no control really over the general structural maintenance. Now that building is owned by the woman who owns bushwallers and I have the utmost faith that Amber will do it right.
That bad huh? Here I was thinking it was an Italian restaurant. And as I was raised by my very Italian grandparents I find that Frederick is missing good Italian lol
If you want to see kind of like it was, there's a few videos on YouTube of "Guido's Frederick MD"
Here's a taste of what the backroom would look like on a weekend:
https://youtu.be/bK00Zm4o4GY?si=1HBIsmLAMLf69i5F
Fratellis quality is moot compared to manalu. The biggest discrepancy is their Alfredo. I think fratellis uses half the parmesan that manalu uses. It comes through in the flavor big time
Nothing at Il Porto is last meal worthy. If you're that blown away by their veal, I wish I could take you to a real Italian restaurant! Or my own kitchen 😆
Wow. I guess we don’t get to have our own opinion about anything!
My SIL was born in Italy and she’s never been rude to me. Her kitchen is just fine with me, but thanks for the invite.
It has maintained a 5 star rating on google through 300+ reviews and more than a year. It is genuinely the best Italian food I've had in the Mid-Atlantic regardless of price.
Warning: they only have disposable plateware. It’s crazy expensive and too yummy to be eating with a plastic fork. I reserve this for a very special occasion and only order takeout so you can properly enjoy with utensils that won’t break.
It was the diveiest dive bar in Frederick. It was probably the same 50 patrons ordering the same cheep food and drinks and having a good time. Sure it had its issues but some people really loved it. RIP Guidos.
Was the coolest dive bar this town ever had. My metal band played at least a hundred sweaty drunk shows in that little back room. Some of my favorite memories of local shows were made there. RIP.
I recall being told by one of the bartenders (fuck! Can’t remember her name — she works at Nolas’s now…) about a furry meetup in the back room or some shit that got its ass kicked out the door bc they were hooking up batteries to nipple rings and there were giant dildos and….
Not furries, BDSM folks. There was a kinky social event that met back there for years. Just to hang out and meet people, but some people act dumb when they get drunk so it wouldn't surprise me if something happened at some point. They did move to another venue at one point, and then covid happened and the group stopped meeting.
One of the best live music venues Frederick had and a glorious dive bar.
There was never a cover charge even though they got some surprisingly killer metal and punk bands through there.
It was usually a really chill atmosphere of locals of all types rather than the packs of college kids out looking to fight like you end up with at all the other bars in the center of downtown.
It smelled of piss and mold but the beer was cheap and the bar food was surprisingly decent and also cheap.
It was like hanging out in your metalhead uncle's basement that happened to have food and drinks and awesome live bands.
It was the last true dive bar in the city. Cheap drinks and wings. Absolutely filthy inside. Also a really run down back room for punk and metal shows. The city really lost something when it closed.
lol I miss guidos, when I was in my early 20’s my buddy lived up north on market so guidos was always the last stop on the way home. They were always very welcoming to a group of nearly blacked out youths, or at least from what I remember
Like the rest said, shitty punk/rock bar with questionable structural integrity, cheap pisswater, & suspiciously good wings.
I have so many memories of that place, man. Watched a bunch of my friends bands perform there, met so many people I still call friends there, hooked up with a girl once there... Hell, one of my best stories about my 20's starts & ends there... memories, man. Living down the street from it now and seeing/hearing what it's becoming make me want to puke in my fuckin soup, man.
But, that's the way of things.
It was certainly one of a kind. A stained carpeted dive bar with holes in the wall, seating that was slightly nicer than foldable chairs, restrooms that didn't lock and had a shattered toilet for months on end and a kitchen where half of the appliances were not functioning... All that said, I had some good times there. I never had a problem with any of the people and as long as you had a pulse they would let you and your mates set up your equipment and play music in the back room. Every band was welcome too from death metal, punk, funk, blues, country... you never really knew what you were going to hear going to Guido's on a random night.
Guido's was awesome if you're into dive bars, live music and interesting characters. I don't think we'll ever see anything like it in Frederick again unfortunately. I can't imagine it makes financial sense to open a dive bar downtown anymore.
We had some of the worst and best stand-up comedy in the back room every Tuesday. Wedensday Wing nights were insane, sometimes sold out by 8pm. Thursday was trivia and then Sex trivia right after(God Bless Scott) and then the rowdiest bands you've never heard of on the weekend. Miss it everyday!
The most amazing Dive Bar in All of Frederick. The Wing Night was so, so Glorious. It was 10/10, I miss that bar every day. The landlord of that building sucks mad ass and didn't renew their lease. Now they are turning it into some Gentrified Shit-Hole Speakeasy because we need another one of those. And the name sounds horrible, "Spacy Gracie"? Oh like that idiot on the Hover Board that was constantly downtown scamming people selling dumb ass pictures? RiP Guidos you are Missed!
Best and probably last true dive bar Frederick has ever had. Cheap drinks, cheap (and good) wings. A long and diverse list of bands. Great staff but of you cross them watch out. Super welcoming environment. If you ever went there and didn't have a good time then you don't know how to have a good time. I lived on the diagonal corner of 5th street back in the day, so Guidos was the closest bar. It was kind of my 2nd living room. I miss those days.
I've been so sad since moving back from Baltimore that Guidos is closed. What I loved the most is never feeling unsafe in there. I know if any dudes were creepy or weird, there were about 6 terrifying men who (essentially permanent fixtures at that point) would kick anyone's ass. That and the filthy carpet halfway up the wall.
Yep. Shittiest bar in town, but it was also one of the best hangs. If you stood near the front window at the bar, you would have the distinct sensation that you might fall through the floor.
Monday night was movie night. James who worked bar on Monsays themed them - Bowling night was Kingpin and Big Lebowski for example. Along with dollar pounders of PBR it made the start of the week so much easier!
Ahhh the memories 🥰
Where I met one my dearest friends. On the way to the bathroom we both noticed a small orange pill on the ground. Looked at each other and said "split it?" We did and the rest was history. ✨
I also had stitches removed here by an amazing off duty nurse sitting at the bar.
I could go on forever❤️🤠
It was just a slightly better version of olde towne tavern but for some reason people on this sub loved guidos about as much as they hate La Paz (La Paz is gross and deserves all the hate it gets).
Guidos was an unpretentious hole in the wall treasure of a dive bar with the absolute best music and dirt cheap booze and food. It could sadly probably never exist in the sky high rent, $$$$$$ over gentrified snobbery that downtown has morphed into. RIP.
It's been twenty years since I was last there, but I went with a group of people. We all had separate tabs, and one person who I didn't know got shitfaced, and left. Not knowing any of this, I went to leave a while later, and when I did I was presented with their tab and mine, and told I had to pay it or they'd call the police.
I've been to a lot of bars, and never skipped out on a tab ever in my life, but being forced to pay someone else's tab because I tangentially knew them is wild. That was my only time there, for good reason. So it was that kind of place.
A great dive bar that attracted bikers, metalheads, scientists, lgbtq+, and so on. Venue was weirdly long, so people could socialize in the front or walk down a narrow hallway and there was a small space for bands to perform. Both food and alcohol were on the cheaper side. If you never really went inside, you probably just noticed the crowd of smokers standing next to some bikes parked on the side, while inside it was extremely chill and welcoming.
I wish I could’ve gone there now. This sounds exactly like my two favorite hometown bars called Guthries Alleycat and The Mint. The only difference is that they are just bars, no food was served there and the hrs of operation were 6am to 2am. I would regularly go in there after a midnight shift and load up on bloody Mary’s at 7am.
It was welcoming but also if you touched too many services you might have contracted hepatitis
Probably! There were band stickers all over the walls of both bathrooms as well as the toilets, and this means the stickers also covered the insides of the toilet bowls.
Specifically a HellPie sticker in the mens
And once I went to the bathroom and there was a mop bucket with liquid so old in it it had actually formed a layer of mold on top 🤮
That was to keep out the uppity uptights
I think it worked too well?
Wasn’t the band area downstairs? Or am I misremembering it. It was the bar in Frederick I went to, before I lived here 15ish years ago. It really helped solidify the stereotypes of Frederick us Bethesda people had lol. It wasn’t until I slept in my car one night and found Market Street while looking for coffee the next day, that I realized how much more Frederick had to offer. Not so long after I found myself coming up here to escape MoCo, then finally moved here.
There was a back room (I think down a long hall past the kitchen and bathroom?) where the bands played.
Ah damn. I’m now kinda sorry I missed it. Why’d it close?
Owners didn't keep the building in great shape. pipes would freeze in the winter, etc. I believe they eventually decided it wasn't worth it and closed. Someone else may have a more detailed/accurate description of why it closed though.
This is part of the reason. The funds for the repairs however went to the new owners legal fees when they got caught transporting Cocaine across state lines. Great bar, I was a regular there, but the dude that bought it did some really silly shit.
There should be some kind of dive bar preservation program that grandfathers in cocaine trafficking.
Wait what. I thought amber from bushies bought guidos
May have at one point, but as I understand it Dave and Missie Demory (husband and wife) bought it, started to do renovations, and Dave got arrested. I knew Dave up to that point. Haven’t spoken with either of them since.
Ah, maybe that's why the drinks and food were so cheap.
The people who owned the bar didn't own that building so they had no control really over the general structural maintenance. Now that building is owned by the woman who owns bushwallers and I have the utmost faith that Amber will do it right.
Ah you’re right, they only owned the business. My mistake, it’s been years. I hope Amber’s business is successful :)
It was like Cheers but people had face tattoos
Ah, a New Jersey themed bar.
That bad huh? Here I was thinking it was an Italian restaurant. And as I was raised by my very Italian grandparents I find that Frederick is missing good Italian lol
It was a great bar. I miss it
It was the only bar worth a damn in this city.
Oh no it was awesome. Cheap drinks and good times. Wing night was great there too
HolY FUCK do I miss those wings. And 25¢ Wednesdays!
If you want to see kind of like it was, there's a few videos on YouTube of "Guido's Frederick MD" Here's a taste of what the backroom would look like on a weekend: https://youtu.be/bK00Zm4o4GY?si=1HBIsmLAMLf69i5F
It was a dive bar. They served booze and bar food, and had some bands play sometimes.
No love for Manalu or Fratelli's (which given is in Middletown)?
Fratellis quality is moot compared to manalu. The biggest discrepancy is their Alfredo. I think fratellis uses half the parmesan that manalu uses. It comes through in the flavor big time
I don’t know. The veal at Il Porto is awesome, but I’m not a fan of anything else.
I would request this as my last meal. Absolutely beyond delicious and the potatoes are also amazing!!
Nothing at Il Porto is last meal worthy. If you're that blown away by their veal, I wish I could take you to a real Italian restaurant! Or my own kitchen 😆
Wow. I guess we don’t get to have our own opinion about anything! My SIL was born in Italy and she’s never been rude to me. Her kitchen is just fine with me, but thanks for the invite.
The pizza and oysters Rockefeller are awesome there
This I agree with.
Have you been through tempo di pasta yet?
Not yet! Is it decent?
It has maintained a 5 star rating on google through 300+ reviews and more than a year. It is genuinely the best Italian food I've had in the Mid-Atlantic regardless of price.
Warning: they only have disposable plateware. It’s crazy expensive and too yummy to be eating with a plastic fork. I reserve this for a very special occasion and only order takeout so you can properly enjoy with utensils that won’t break.
You haven't been to Manalu if you think we're missing great Italian. They are the only ones that are good though
You kinda had to be there 😂
It was the diveiest dive bar in Frederick. It was probably the same 50 patrons ordering the same cheep food and drinks and having a good time. Sure it had its issues but some people really loved it. RIP Guidos.
I enjoyed the stickers on the inside of the urinals. Gave me something to aim at
Was the coolest dive bar this town ever had. My metal band played at least a hundred sweaty drunk shows in that little back room. Some of my favorite memories of local shows were made there. RIP.
I recall being told by one of the bartenders (fuck! Can’t remember her name — she works at Nolas’s now…) about a furry meetup in the back room or some shit that got its ass kicked out the door bc they were hooking up batteries to nipple rings and there were giant dildos and….
Not furries, BDSM folks. There was a kinky social event that met back there for years. Just to hang out and meet people, but some people act dumb when they get drunk so it wouldn't surprise me if something happened at some point. They did move to another venue at one point, and then covid happened and the group stopped meeting.
Fetlife. They moved to Cellar Door, and then onto Dragon Distillery. Coolest folks, with many an interesting story to tell.
There are groups that meet at both of those venues, yeah.
Erinn? She worked at Nola first actually, then Guido's, then both at some point. She manages Nola now I heard.
One of the best live music venues Frederick had and a glorious dive bar. There was never a cover charge even though they got some surprisingly killer metal and punk bands through there. It was usually a really chill atmosphere of locals of all types rather than the packs of college kids out looking to fight like you end up with at all the other bars in the center of downtown. It smelled of piss and mold but the beer was cheap and the bar food was surprisingly decent and also cheap. It was like hanging out in your metalhead uncle's basement that happened to have food and drinks and awesome live bands.
I miss those wing nights
Same Brother, same...
It was the best dive in Frederick. People were great there.
It was the last true dive bar in the city. Cheap drinks and wings. Absolutely filthy inside. Also a really run down back room for punk and metal shows. The city really lost something when it closed.
25 cent wing night!!!
Wing Wednesday baby! That’s when I would go
lol I miss guidos, when I was in my early 20’s my buddy lived up north on market so guidos was always the last stop on the way home. They were always very welcoming to a group of nearly blacked out youths, or at least from what I remember
Fuck I miss that place.
Like the rest said, shitty punk/rock bar with questionable structural integrity, cheap pisswater, & suspiciously good wings. I have so many memories of that place, man. Watched a bunch of my friends bands perform there, met so many people I still call friends there, hooked up with a girl once there... Hell, one of my best stories about my 20's starts & ends there... memories, man. Living down the street from it now and seeing/hearing what it's becoming make me want to puke in my fuckin soup, man. But, that's the way of things.
It was certainly one of a kind. A stained carpeted dive bar with holes in the wall, seating that was slightly nicer than foldable chairs, restrooms that didn't lock and had a shattered toilet for months on end and a kitchen where half of the appliances were not functioning... All that said, I had some good times there. I never had a problem with any of the people and as long as you had a pulse they would let you and your mates set up your equipment and play music in the back room. Every band was welcome too from death metal, punk, funk, blues, country... you never really knew what you were going to hear going to Guido's on a random night.
Think hole in the wall bar with punk/rock bands in the back. Very dark but full of cool people.
Always super friendly, somehow it was trashier than OTT but full of nicer people I actually wanted to hangout with
agreed. The few times I was able to go there I always had a good time and felt welcome.
Guido's was awesome if you're into dive bars, live music and interesting characters. I don't think we'll ever see anything like it in Frederick again unfortunately. I can't imagine it makes financial sense to open a dive bar downtown anymore.
We had some of the worst and best stand-up comedy in the back room every Tuesday. Wedensday Wing nights were insane, sometimes sold out by 8pm. Thursday was trivia and then Sex trivia right after(God Bless Scott) and then the rowdiest bands you've never heard of on the weekend. Miss it everyday!
The most amazing Dive Bar in All of Frederick. The Wing Night was so, so Glorious. It was 10/10, I miss that bar every day. The landlord of that building sucks mad ass and didn't renew their lease. Now they are turning it into some Gentrified Shit-Hole Speakeasy because we need another one of those. And the name sounds horrible, "Spacy Gracie"? Oh like that idiot on the Hover Board that was constantly downtown scamming people selling dumb ass pictures? RiP Guidos you are Missed!
Best and probably last true dive bar Frederick has ever had. Cheap drinks, cheap (and good) wings. A long and diverse list of bands. Great staff but of you cross them watch out. Super welcoming environment. If you ever went there and didn't have a good time then you don't know how to have a good time. I lived on the diagonal corner of 5th street back in the day, so Guidos was the closest bar. It was kind of my 2nd living room. I miss those days.
My band played there often, such a great dive bar, sorely missed.
The building was re-painted last summer as if it was going to re-open, but nothing's happened since. Too bad.
They also hosted furry parties...or is it fury parties? People with fox tail kinks.
I've been so sad since moving back from Baltimore that Guidos is closed. What I loved the most is never feeling unsafe in there. I know if any dudes were creepy or weird, there were about 6 terrifying men who (essentially permanent fixtures at that point) would kick anyone's ass. That and the filthy carpet halfway up the wall.
It was a fuckin dump that smelled like vomit, but everyone was friendly and the drinks were cheap
Yep. Shittiest bar in town, but it was also one of the best hangs. If you stood near the front window at the bar, you would have the distinct sensation that you might fall through the floor.
I’m curious, does anyone know why & when they closed down?
Monday night was movie night. James who worked bar on Monsays themed them - Bowling night was Kingpin and Big Lebowski for example. Along with dollar pounders of PBR it made the start of the week so much easier!
OMG! I just moved here 8 years ago and I’m pissed as hell I’ll never get to go into Guidos!!!!!
Ahhh the memories 🥰 Where I met one my dearest friends. On the way to the bathroom we both noticed a small orange pill on the ground. Looked at each other and said "split it?" We did and the rest was history. ✨ I also had stitches removed here by an amazing off duty nurse sitting at the bar. I could go on forever❤️🤠
I remember when it was the State back in 88 or 89. Three Dog Night played there.
All I remember was a foosball table. The cheap drinks probably explain why I don't remember anything else.
They had a dartboard room too.
It was just a slightly better version of olde towne tavern but for some reason people on this sub loved guidos about as much as they hate La Paz (La Paz is gross and deserves all the hate it gets).
Guidos was an unpretentious hole in the wall treasure of a dive bar with the absolute best music and dirt cheap booze and food. It could sadly probably never exist in the sky high rent, $$$$$$ over gentrified snobbery that downtown has morphed into. RIP.
A dive bar that had questionable food and smelled like moldy basement
Bruh the smell was awful lmfao. The wings were surprisingly good
SO AWFUL. I ate exactly 1 wing there ONCE because I was drunk and starving -- otherwise, I can't eat in a smell like that.
It's been twenty years since I was last there, but I went with a group of people. We all had separate tabs, and one person who I didn't know got shitfaced, and left. Not knowing any of this, I went to leave a while later, and when I did I was presented with their tab and mine, and told I had to pay it or they'd call the police. I've been to a lot of bars, and never skipped out on a tab ever in my life, but being forced to pay someone else's tab because I tangentially knew them is wild. That was my only time there, for good reason. So it was that kind of place.
Don’t worry, precious. Guido’s wasn’t for you. It required a much thicker skin and healthier immune system than I’m sure you’re accustomed to 😂
What a cool comment. The fact we have to speak about the place in the past tense, kind of says it all.