NYCBP Blog

Little Michele & Kal of Blue Ruin

The last 18 months have not been good for drinkers who like their bars dirty and their beer cheap (and served by sexy women). There have been so many closures it boggles the mind. So I was extremely eager to attend the grand opening of Blue Ruin (538 Ninth Ave. between 39th & 40th) on Friday night. After a fantastic evening, here is my take: I predict every “Best Of New York” bar list for the next ten years—from Time Out to New York magazine—will feature Blue Ruin in the Top 5. Every time.

There is a major reason to get excited about this venue: one of the partners—and Blue Ruin’s head bartender—is Little Michele (just one “L” on that). To speak of Little Michele is to speak of greatness in a 5-foot-tall package of unstable dynamite. It does not do this leather bustier-loving woman justice to boil her drink-slinging career into a few sentences, but I’ll try. A dozen years ago she put Hogs ‘n Heifers on the map; it was Little Michele who got the Page Six attention and made the place famous (it is also where she got her bar name; Big Michelle is the Hogs owner). Then she quit and went to Red Rock West; imagine if David Ortiz quit the Red Sox today and showed up in the Bronx, that was the effect. She also was at the defunct Circus (rumored to becoming a gay bar soon). Little Michele is the archetype of the classic NYC roadhouse bartender: lightning fast, filthy mouth, sexy as hell and always remembers what you are drinking.

Before going too much into what Little Michele and Rachel, another Red Rock alum, had in store on Friday, let me tell you about the bar. It is located in the spot formerly occupied by the legendary Bellevue Bar (and the lame Why Not?). None of the Bellevue fixtures are left; the new owners started with practically a clean slate. Blue Ruin is still in the process of being fixed up, but here are the important details:

All female bar staff.

It is open 7 days a week, 11 am to 4 am, except Sundays, when it opens at 1.

Happy Hour is every day from 5 to 8, with two-for-one drinks.

A draft of Bud Light (my drink) is $4.

PBR in a can $2.

Great buyback policy.

Pool table.

All female bar staff.

Michele told me the philosophy of the bar. “It is all about New York,” she said. “If you want to watch sports, stay home with a six-pack. If you want to go to a bar with girls with their tits out, come here.” The partners are going to decorate the place with a New York theme of old photos and mementos; it currently does not have any TVs but those may come (“for New York sports only”).

I met Kal, who is the other principal owner. He runs Kabin downtown, another hit bar. He wanted Little Michele’s attitude. His wife came up with the name for the bar, which is a Prohibition era nickname for bathtub gin. This makes sense, because the whole bar has a speakeasy vibe. It is all exposed wood, metal, and a reproduction tin ceiling. It already looks 50 years old. Part of this has to do with the care these two took in getting the place ready, which knocked me out. It is some story.

The floor, which I usually only notice if I am spread out on it, is made of gorgeous wide wooden planks. It turns out these came from the old Pepsi plant in Queens, and the wood that was salvaged is 100 years old. They hauled it over to Hell’s Kitchen and Michele helped plane the wood! She was very hands-on with the bar construction too; Michele said the wood for this came from a guy on eBay for $10. It is Spalted Siberian Elm and she helped install it. She also got her hands on a blowtorch and assisted in the welding of the custom light fixtures. The overall look of the bar is like a speakeasy; it would be easy to picture this place in the basement of a brownstone in 1920, and not just in the shadow of the Port Authority, next door to a porn store.

The jukebox is eclectic; I can’t say I’ve heard a more diverse mix lately. I heard, in no particular order, The Ramones (“Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”), Arthur Conley (“Sweet Soul Music”), Tony Orlando & Dawn (“Knock Three Times On The Ceiling If You Love Me”) and the ultimate one-two punch: Glenn Miller’s classic “Pennsylvania 6-5000” followed by Gun ‘N Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” Michele said, “The jukebox is work in progress… it will be all New York music… you will never hear fucking thrash metal in this bar.”


Kal said the best is yet to come for the bar, which it is still being ramped up. It will take time to get it just right, but I advise checking it out now. If anyone has a stuffed lion or tiger head, please bring it in for these guys.

Little Michele is hiring more bartenders in her mold: tough and fast. But it would be extremely hard to find a bartender with a dirtier mouth, which is another one of her bad habits. “My tits keep flying out,” she told me as she tried to shove her girls back into her bustier. You need to have her drop the F bomb on you a few times.


It was a great scene to watch Little Michele and Rachel behind the bar. Rachel is a spicy blonde who always, always, always looks like she is having fun. She has been out of the game for two years, but you would not know it from seeing her in action. I don’t think Rachel will be there too often, but if she is on duty, you’ll have to catch her act. For now, Little Michele will be there most nights except Thursdays.

If you are looking for a new bar to explore, make tracks to Blue Ruin. It is worth a trip to explore the newest roadhouse on the Manhattan scene.

Labels: bars, beer, hell's kitchen, patrons, saloons