The club was frequented by many of Washington's elite at the time who would come to see such musical artists as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.

In 1959, promoter Tony Taylor and Angelo Alvino bought the club and transformed it into the premier jazz venue in Washington, D.C.[2] Taylor booked many of the leading jazz musicians of the 1960s including Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Shirley Horn, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Bobby Timmons, Nina Simone, and Charles Mingus.

The financial strains and the civil disturbances following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led Taylor and Alvino to close the club in September 1968.

Thirty years later, as a re-development of the U Street area was underway, the club was purchased by Amir Afshar and re-opened.

Alain Kalantar, said the for Harlot DC is a to "bring the Bohemian Caverns Vibes and live performers into a true European lounge, something that would be a cool neighborhood bar: very cozy, very welcoming.