Polo Grill Closes, IHOP Moving In

The booths at the Polo Mediterranean Bar & Grill have been auctioned off, the walls are bare and the doors are closed for good. Wednesday was the last day of business for the Gunston Plaza restaurant, and new owner IHOP will begin renovation this February. 

"I can confirm that we will be opening at that location in Lorton next year," said IHOP spokesman Craig Hoffman to Patch. "The restaurant will open hopefully by next summer, or sooner." 

Polo Grill co-owner Archie Zora spoke briefly to Patch after auctioning off the restaurant's furniture on Thursday night. "I don't know about the sale. The landlord sold the place," said Zora, who declined to comment further. 

Polo Grill (originally Gunston's Restaurant) opened in 1989, and was sold two years later to Alexandria restaurateur Ralph Davis, who sold it to Zora and his partner Mike Kiros in 2008. The pair changed the name to the Polo Mediterranean Bar & Grill, and added Greek and Italian dishes to the menu.

Lorton's Irma Clifton was lucky to eat dinner at the Polo Grill one last time. "My girlfriend and I ate down there on Wednesday night, and the waitress told us that it was their last night," Clifton said. "I was shocked."