Sis's Tavern (4512 41st Avenue)

Marie Alice Walls, also known as Sis, was one of the leading entrepreneurs in North Brentwood. Ms. Sis was at one time a band manager, a real estate mogul, and the owner of the local business Sis’s Tavern–the most famous of the town’s four main watering holes after prohibition.

Sis’s Tavern was built around 1912 and had a vibrant history as a store, tavern, nightclub, and barbershop. Ms. Sis took over the general store from Jeremiah Hawkins in 1933 and opened the space up as a tavern in the 1950s. She hosted a multitude of performers including burlesque dancers and famous musicians such as Duke Ellington and Pearl Bailey.

After leasing the space for many years, Ms. Sis purchased the property in 1966. Sis’s Tavern had a special dance floor, and the venue was suitable for large parties. The tavern had a small kitchen and served guests at tables lined up along the walls. Some of the parties Ms. Sis held in the tavern featured dancers, female impersonators, and performances with live snakes.

Her band, the D.C. Tornados, performed and released a few albums featuring drums and guitar. Ms. Sis paid for the D.C. Tornados’ uniforms, promoted their shows, and bought a station wagon to tour locally to other bars in the area.

Sis’s Tavern drew late-night crowds from Washington D.C. into North Brentwood and was said to “jump on the weekends.” Ms. Sis was known throughout North Brentwood and would call neighborhood parents if visitors were too young to be hanging around the tavern at night.

Sis drove around in an “always new” Cadillac, purchasing a new one regularly to help establish herself as the trendy woman in charge of the entertainment industry in North Brentwood.

The tavern closed in 1978 and was sold to Deloris R. Sprigs, who opened what was later known as Baby Dee’s guest club until 1996. The site was a longtime social gathering space for locals and visitors to North Brentwood and is, therefore, a culturally significant local landmark.

Sources

Sis runs the cash register in her tavern. Courtesy of North Brentwood.

Katharine Bryant and Donna Schneider. 2000. Prince George's County (Images of America, Maryland). pg. 125