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

Word comes in from Brooklyn the Borough of a new bar in Prospect Heights that is by the former owner of Siberia, Tracy Westmoreland. It is to be called Manhattans and opens at 769 Washington Ave.

“Hipsters call the city the Manhattans, the name grew out of Brooklyn,” he said over the phone two days before unveiling the new saloon. “Hopefully when enough people know the bar, when they’re making plans to go out, they’ll say, ‘Wait, are we going to the city, or are we going to Tracy’s bar?’ It’s a perfect circle.”

While the article does mention Siberia, it doesn't mention Tracy's bar that he owned before that, which was one of my favorites of all time: KGB. It was located in the 50th Street station on the IRT. You had to actually be in the subway station to get into the bar. It was glorious and one of the greatest dives in the city. When it went tits up, forced out by the MTA, it was alleged that Jimmy Fallon (and my pal Luke) helped Tracy move to Siberia Bar. I think he named the new place Siberia because of the Soviet connection to his old place, which legend had it was a dead drop for Russian spies.

I never fell in love with Siberia Bar, like so many others did. I preferred the much cooler and way more friendly Bellevue Bar, which was around the corner. When Jimmy Duff ran Bellevue Bar, it was heaven. It had the best vibe, best music, and most incredible bartenders. It was always a freakshow. Jimmy moved to Brooklyn five years ago and opened Duff's, and I believe Tracy was a part-owner of the old Bellevue, which folded soon after Jimmy went across the river. Now Tracy has followed Jimmy to Brooklyn.

So now there is a "new" Siberia, located in Brooklyn. will it take off?

[UPDATE: New York Observer has an interview too]

Labels: bars, Brooklyn, drinking

Tommy with Megan at The Patriot.

Could Tommy McNeill have us drinking again at 457 West 17th Street, the former home of Red Rock West? Our “reliable sources” tell us that Tommy, the fleshy proprietor of The Patriot and The Duck, is about to take over the old Red Rock, which closed amid lawsuits, acrimony and much bad karma in May 2008 after a 13-year run.

This is good news for dive bar fans, as it comes on the heels of word that Tommy is busy with carpenters and electricians to ready his third bar—so far unnamed—on East 92nd and Second Avenue (which coincidently, also held the defunct Red Rock Roadhouse, which shuttered two years ago).

Tommy has been the pied piper of dive bars in Manhattan for 20 years. Without him, there would be none of the early 1990s dives that exist today: Coyote Ugly (he gave founder Liliana Lovell her start in the bar game), Hogs ‘n’ Heifers (he was the brains of the original operation) nor Doc Holliday’s (Tommy was an original investor and co-owner, and came up with the name). When he closed the original Village Idiot on First Avenue and 9th Street in 1994, and moved across town to 14th and Tenth, we rejoiced. That place closed in 2004 and his Upper West Side operation, Yogi’s, closed in October 2008. He has been running The Patriot (Chambers and Church) for five years and The Duck (West 112th and Second Ave) for less than six months. With Tommy, it is cheap beer and Johnny Cash tunes at all times. He has done more for the bottom line of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniels in New York than any other person.

Could he pull this off in the shadow of the High Line? Of course. We saw him mobilize the bartenders from The Patriot and Yogi’s and move into The Duck in a matter of hours. He has been hiring new girls like crazy for the past several weeks. As soon as the Upper East Side bar opens—which could be in a matter of weeks—he will have his hands full getting the old Red Rock West in shape to open.

Could we see Dara of The Patriot/The Duck at the old Red Rock? We hope so!

What can we expect? When Red Rock West folded, the staff of about a dozen bartenders scattered to the four corners of the city. A couple found spots at Coyote Ugly (where they had to tone down their antics, sad to say). Others moved to the outer boroughs. In the world of Tommy, he will staff the bar with the same girls that work for him at The Patriot and The Duck. Could it open by Memorial Day for Fleet Week? We hope so.

One big change that separates Tommy’s bars from the now-defunct Red Rock is that he never needs hulking bouncers or doormen, who stood around and intimidated the customers. Tommy hires bartenders that run the bars, do the stocking, and handle all the chores at the bar. So we do not think he will even think about re-hiring any of the bouncers or support staff that worked at Red Rock (and this includes the poor soul who had to guard the motorcycles). I can think of only one male face I want to see Tommy bring back: BOB. That dude was the BBQ master, and his hog roasts were legendary. If Bob is grilling, it will be happy days on West 17th Street again.

Tommy is a smart businessman, and savvy where he picks his bars: his new Second Avenue bar is in a prime spot for the Second Avenue Subway when it opens in six years, and even better, when the High Line park opens, his new bar will be in it’s shadow. It looks like 2009 is going to be a great year for dive bar patrons!

Labels: bars, bartenders, chelsea, coyote ugly, dive bars, Doc Holliday’s, news, Patriot Saloon, red rock west, The Duck, Tommy McNeil, upper east side, Yogi’s

I always hated the Hawaiian Tropic Zone as a bar, a restaurant, and a tourist trap. I went there a bunch of times with the ultimate wingman, my cousin, and it always sucked. Well now comes word in the Daily News that it is shutting down for an overhaul. This is kind of hard to believe, since it only opened in a couple years ago, and now it needs "a lengthy renovation."

Now a sprawling two-story eating, drinking and ogling destination, the place will reopen as a one-story bistro with the same menu and scantily clad servers. While some managers will keep their jobs, most of the waitstaff will be forced to seek other work.

This is the second time in a week this dump has been on NYCBP; don't forget the Latin bombshell who is suing the place, one of two pending lawsuits.

Labels: bars, new york city

Man, this wonderful song is growing on me. I am sure a lot of the story will sound familiar to a lot of us. Just keep your cell phones charged up.

By the way, does anyone know which bar is featured in the street scene?

Labels: bars, Last Call, Lee Ann Womack

So we finally heard from Jimmy Duff about what he is doing with his bar in Billyburg. It is moving about a mile next week. The scoop:

Some facts for ya:

The last night at DUFF'S present location is Saturday, November 29. "Last Call at North 3rd Street" (This location at North 3rd will remain open afterwards as Rock N' Roll dive bar THE BUNKER).

DUFF'S will be opening in our new location the following weekend at 168 Marcy Avenue in South Williamsburg, December 5th and 6th, along with all the DUFF's employees & jukebox. The new location is approximately 1 mile from the current North 3rd Street bar. We hope you'll join for some of the best parties of the year, and thank you for your continued support!!

Labels: bars, bartenders, Brooklyn, drinking, press releases

Where to watch the election returns tonight? A bar? Your apartment? There is something about watching history being made in public, like you would have to watch a Game 7 of the World Series in a bar, right? And do you want to be at home, alone, with a big news story like this? As history is being made?

I think going to a bar, with lots of drinks and celebrating, would be a lot more fun. If the election is a big sweep, then it would be a bigger party. If McCain concedes early... oh well.

The Post has some choices, among them Nation on West 45th Street, where bartender Allison pours drinks. According to the Post, there are a lot of places that are ready to see the action...

Not since the Giants shocked the Patriots in the Super Bowl 10 months ago have

Manhattan's busiest bars been so excited about a contest. But instead of watching touchdowns, these crowds will be watching election returns.

"We're going to have a big crowd," said Stanley Meytin, a staffer at Southern Hospitality, a Southern-themed bar on the Upper East Side.

Over on Gothamist, they have some suggestions too.

If you want to have a drink in front of you while watching the results get tallied, there are innumerable of options. SideBAR and the Village Pourhouse are both hosting election day parties...complete with presidential and vice presidential look-a-likes who will pose for pictures with attendees. Obama Mamas and Macallan McCains will be served and an $11.04 Red, White & Blue menu will be available. Bonus: red and blue beer will be poured.

Have a great time tonight watching the election returns!

Labels: bars, Democrat, drinking, patrons, Republican

Such were the instructions of bar owner Tom McNeil, shortly after 2 AM Friday night/Saturday morning, on the next to last night at Yogi’s, to those who were planning to come for the final night of drinking, Saturday, October 4. Presumably he meant only the ladies, but, as we see from some of the photos below, it would not surprise us if some of the Yogi’s men tried to show to the world that they indeed have balls.

I already wrote my Yogi’s epitaph on the chalkboard:

The countdown clock is getting scaringly low:

The lovely Patience was behind the bar:

Plenty of folks jammed the bar for this next to last night:

Labels: bars, beer, dive bars, Eddie Goldman, New York, Tommy McNeil, upper west side, Yogi's

Janet is looking for something here, and is also unsure of where she'll land after Yogi's closes.

The cold, cold hearts of the real estate parasites have robbed us of Yogi's. Will we ever find another home like it again?

Labels: bars, beer, dive bars, Eddie Goldman, Janet, New York, Yogi's

It was the last Tuesday night at Yogi’s for Theresa, who is the longest continuously working bartender at our beloved dive. She was joined by Brie for this last Tuesday before the bar closes this coming Saturday, October 4, and the real estate cockroaches have it ripped down.

Theresa said she will be one of the all-star crew working the last night at Yogi’s. I asked her what she will be doing after that, and she said she planned to join the circus. I, for one, hope to see here again somewhere, sometime, even if it means watching her let a thousand clowns out of a car.

(Photo by Eddie Goldman.)

Labels: bars, bartenders, beer, Eddie Goldman, New York, Theresa, Yogi's

It was a surreal Monday night at Yogi’s. Mondays have been one of the liveliest nights at this bar over the years, and Monday, Sept. 29, was just that, with girls dancing on the bar, outlaw country music blaring from the jukebox, and the gorgeously frenetic bartender Patience looking as radiant as ever.


But this one was different, as it was the final Monday before Yogi’s closes for good on Saturday, October 4. For those who hadn’t heard or believed the news yet, there were signs posted outside and inside the bar:


There was a countdown clock facing the street:


Even the legendary sewer of a bathroom had graffiti with the news:

It will all be over Saturday. Hopefully, however, it will all resume Thursday, October 9, at The Duck and, we wish, at a new Yogi’s near the present one sometime in the future when the economy, finance, and the real estate markets, i.e., the “big money” which is closing down this Yogi’s, allow.

(All photos by Eddie Goldman, thank you.)

Labels: bars, bartenders, beer, dive bars, Eddie Goldman, New York, Patience, upper west side, Yogi’s

It is doubtful that Yogi Berra ever set foot in any of the incarnations of the bar which currently shares his nickname. It is even less likely that he will be there to help close it, as he did last week with Yankee Stadium. But if he wanted to, he would have his chance next week.

I just got off the phone with journalist and drinker Paul Katcher. He had sent me a text message shortly before 11 PM Thursday night, from Yogi’s, with the dreaded news: the last night for this bar will be Saturday, October 4.

He said he had spoken with bartenders Patience and Brie, and that they had been told earlier today that the closing of Yogi’s will be sooner than expected, on October 4. I may head down there myself a bit later to find out more, and, of course, have a few beers.

Clear your schedules, friends, because Saturday, October 4, will clearly mark the end of an era in our rapidly devolving New York.

Labels: bars, beer, Eddie Goldman, Paul Katcher, Yogi’s

Labels: bars, beer, Eddie Goldman, Fubar, Lauren, manhattan, New York, Patriot Saloon, Yogi’s

Labels: Alyssa, bars, beer, Doc Holliday’s, Eddie Goldman, New York

So all these weatherpeople from the liberal/communist/capitalist/conservative media (just ignore whichever epithets you disagree with) are telling us that there is this big storm coming to these parts Saturday. Well, that didn’t stop a bunch of regulars, rednecks, yuppies, and hippies from descending on that den of debauchery Friday night, the one and only Yogi’s (so far).

Part of the reason, of course, was that on Friday nights, the superstar Patience keeps slinging the beers. If she weren’t such a sweetie, she could start bloody civil wars over her.



Also helping the clientele lose their senses was the lovely Danielle. Just a smile from her could get the Taliban to buy a beer for Toby Keith.



So you stayed home to watch 20-year-old Robin Byrd reruns, did you?



For you unfortunate few who failed to show this Friday, Patience works Friday nights at Yogi’s and Wednesday days at The Patriot Saloon, and Danielle works Wednesday nights at The Patriot Saloon, Monday days at Yogi’s, and scattered weekends where needed.

Of course, you did get a partial pass if you stayed home to watch boxing. There were three lives cards on Friday night, and HBO has a potentially great battle in Juan Diaz vs. Michael Katsidis Saturday night. Also, if you’re really Internet savvy, you could watch numerous other fights from around the world Saturday.

And don’t worry if you are more redneck than hippie, or vice versa. Gretchen Wilson’s new album, due out this fall, has a tune called “Hippies and Rednecks” that attempts to bridge the gap between these sometimes warring subcultures. No doubt this healing process includes a lot of beer.

PS – I know my pictures aren’t exactly the best. I just use my camera phone, which is all I have. I’m a journalist, not a photographer, so all you fellers who do have these 2009 model digital jobs are invited to put your beers down for a second and point, shoot, and e-mail.

Labels: bars, beer, Danielle, Eddie Goldman, Gretchen Wilson, New York, Patience, Yogi’s

Labels: bars, beer, country music, Lisa Marie, Patriot, Yogi’s

This past Thursday night at Yogi’s did find an assortment of sweet young thangs there, although most of them looked like extras from “Sex And The City”, with their fancy handbags and shoes. But for the few hours I was there, none of them danced on the bar or even acted much rowdier than a bunch of yuppie-ettes at a sale at Bloomingdale's. Even usually surefire anthems from Gretchen Wilson and Dolly Parton did not elevate any of these young ladies off the floor (although I was told that a few had danced on the bar before I had arrived).

The two lovely bartenders that night, newcomer Emma and regular Brie, of course, kept us wolves satisfied, of course.



But the most fun the menfolk seemed to have was when the finicky jukebox played “Dueling Banjos”, and we all started banging away on the bar.



Crowded as it was, the atmosphere was so slow that the white-haired, late-night regular Bobby (“Yeah, baby!”) actually made sense and got a few laughs when he suggested that something should be done for the “horny old men” amongst us.

Brie and Emma did what they could, of course within the confines of the law. Brie liked this photo I took of her, commenting, “My boobs look huge!”

Yes, even cameras in cell phones capture that image.

I don’t know if it is a summer thing, but dancing on the bar at Yogi’s has been a rarity in these hot months. Maybe the redneck women are on vacation, or broke, or can’t risk violating their parole.

In any case, one place the outlaw women seem to be is in the new video celebrating them, from country group Jackson Taylor. Here it is:

Labels: bars, beer, Brie, Eddie Goldman, Emma, Jackson Taylor, outlaw women, Yogi’s

The bar on the corner of West 17th Street and Tenth Avenue, is closed for business.

Red Rock West Saloon is being sued in New York County Civil Court by Charmer Industries, the Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers in Astoria. The case, CV-069855-06/NY, was filed November 24, 2006 in civil court. The case is active. In addition, the defunct Second Avenue establishment Red Rock Roadhouse also has an open case in New York County Civil Court. It is being sued by Manhattan Beer Distributors. That case, CV-062097-07/NY, was filed November 1, 2007.

However, this is not the only legal proceedings for the bar owners. On Nov. 15, 2007, in New York State Supreme Court, Emilio Barletta sued 453 West 17th Rest Corp, one of the bar's corporation names. Barletta asked for and was given a temporary restraining order and order of protection in February. The case is Index No. 115329/2007. On July 16 at 11 a.m. Judge Doris Ling-Cohan has a status conference about the case with the plaintiff and defendant. Barletta is represented by Kalnick Klee & Green PC.

The bar has been shuttered since mid-May.

Labels: bars, chelsea, red rock west, saloons

I hereby apologize to all my barfriends and bartenders: Because of work (I’ve been called the hardest-working person in my biz) and family issues, I was unable to fulfill my obligations this weekend to go out drinking.

Labels: bars, beer, drinking, Eddie Goldman, Janet, New York, Yogi’s

New Places, Same Faces
By Eddie Goldman
Photos here.

Rest assured, dive bar lovers, boozers, rednecks, and country music aficionados. The clock may be ticking on the lease of Yogi’s, the beloved Upper West Side haven for cheap beer, cheaper women, and Willie, Waylon, and Merle, but, according to its founder and dive bar impresario, Tommy McNeil, the era of these places in New York City is far from over.

The scene was a get-together organized by the NYCBP.com crew Tuesday night, June 24, at Yogi’s. Behind the bar was the gorgeous Theresa, who also is the bartender who has been working there the longest. Tommy and his trusted partner Chardee were downstairs interviewing young women to join their legion of all-star, all-rowdy bartenders.

As the NYCBP.com gathering progressed, and I was sitting at the bar, contemplating the meaning of Miller Lite, suddenly Tommy emerged from below.

“Hi, good looking’,” he cracked to me as he ambled past, holding a shoulder full of toilet paper rolls and headed for the door with Chardee. I followed them out shortly, since I had been trying to reach Tommy by phone for a few weeks, and only had some unanswered and unreturned calls for my efforts. A good journalist knows never to count on anyone walking back in a door once they have left.

I caught up with them as they were loading up their vehicle, parked right across the street on the northeast corner of 76th Street and Broadway. Finally, in light of the persistent rumors that Yogi’s was due to close some time soon, I had a chance to ask Tommy directly what was really happening.

“The snow will be flying before we are out of here,” he promised.

If that is the case, you still have a few months to get drunk at this legendary bar, take photos, get drunk, and make some new memories there.

Next, I asked him what his plans were for opening new bars. He revealed to me that in about three weeks, he will be opening a new bar at 112th Street and Second Avenue, which is in East Harlem, or El Barrio. The name, as my ears heard it, will be The Duck.

I also asked him what type of bar this will be, and he replied, referring to Yogi’s, “The same as this.” It will be interesting to see how that format fares in that largely Latino neighborhood.

Tommy also confirmed that he is looking at opening another bar in the vicinity of Yogi’s, but that nothing has been finalized.

“You’ll know when we know,” Tommy and Chardee said in unison.

Tommy also said that he would agree to do a more extensive interview with me right before the opening of this newest bar.

Then, as he prepared to leave, Tommy said he wanted to put me to work. He handed me one of those huge batches of toilet paper and told me to give it to Theresa. I did just that, although this was kind of ironic since the men’s room toilet in Yogi’s still has no seat.

They then drove off. Back at Yogi’s, I told a few people about the news that we had just discussed. I also said that I would write up this encounter.

But there also was other business at hand. I was sitting next to a cute girl who came in holding a bouquet of flowers and with a guy wrapped around her. When the guy went to the bathroom, I asked her if she had just been married. “No,” she said with a smile, “I just got divorced.” Hence the celebrating and smooching at the bar.

Soon the NYCBP.com gathering broke up. Those girls from Colorado who came in after that and who had been sitting on the other side of me ended up leaving with the female bartender from Malachy’s who had brought them there. I eventually left, picked up some food at the Westside Market, and took the subway home, until next time, knowing that Yogi’s will still be open when it is time for me to return.

- Eddie Goldman
Music Editor, nycbp.com
No Holds Barred blog
No Holds Barred podcast
No Holds Barred on MySpace.com

Labels: bars, bartenders, Interviews, patrons, saloons, upper west side

Get ready for St. Patrick's Day! In a brilliant PR move, The Town Tavern (134 West Third Street) created a viral video of the action from 2007 to send around town to get people into the bar in 2008. The wild bar in the West Village is notorious for huge parties at big events like these.

With Paddy's Day falling on a Monday this year, it means the serious drinkers will be out in force. Or else, a 3-day weekend?

Thanks to Katie for sending NYCBP the video.

Labels: bars, west village

Sad news for the Upper West Side. Time Out was closed for good today. The plug was pulled on the venerable sports bar on Amsterdam and 77th Street early today. The staff was not notified in advance. At this time there is no plan for a “last night” party. The doors are locked.

For almost a decade, Time Out filled the space that was previously Boomer’s. It was a regular stop for anyone going to watch the big game (even with the worst TVs in town). Time Out was a terrific place to hang out, and had some of the best bartenders in the city. The longest-serving, Camit, had been on staff since September 2000.

This is a business, and for loyal regulars, the writing was on the wall. Just a few years ago the bar was busy seven nights a week and the upstairs was filled with people on a regular basis. But for some time now, the upstairs has been closed during the middle of the week, the bar has been not as busy as it once was.

The staff (five bartenders) is now out of work. If you know of a bar that is hiring, let me know, and I will pass it on to them.

I spoke to Carmit. “I’m sad,” she said. “These were my friends, all of my friends, and I’m going to miss them very much.”

We’ll have to plan an NYCBP party for Time Out soon, maybe at Yogi’s.

Post messages on the message board.

Labels: bars, news, upper west side

Tracey of Double Down Saloon

This was sent out today from the Double Down Saloon, 14 Avenue A:

Breast cancer benefit and burlesque show: sunday sept.16. Come on out for an all-star burlesque extravaganza.

Ken has organized the no-cover entertainment and will be passing the boot to raise money to donate to the Avon Walk to Beat Breast Cancer.

Suggested donation is $10, but any amount helps. Larger donations are encouraged, but all donations are tax deductible, regardless of the amount.

We'll be cooking out from 2pm, at the Sunday Cheap Meat Cookout. Ken will start taking donations around 5pm, and the show kicks off about 7pm, so come on out, grab a bite to eat, get yer drink on and see a great show, and support a worthy cause, all in one afternoon... That's quality time. it'll be a hoot.

Labels: bars, events

I was amazed to read this story from Idaho. This outfit will go to your bar and weigh the bar's booze bottles. This way they can determine how much the bartenders are giving away, or selling.

Russ and VanTassel say they do three secret audits of a bar without the bartenders knowing. After those audits, they can tell how much liquor is being wasted.

It seems sneaky to me. Read it and see for yourself.

Labels: bars

The Times has a good story today about firefighter bars in the city. Apparently, the two firefighters who died last week downtown both tended bar on the side: Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino at the Salty Dog on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; and Firefighter Robert Beddia at Chumley's, which is now closed.

It is an interesting article, and ticks off a number of places in the city that are either part-owned by FDNY members, or else have firemen as bartenders working part-time. The article mentions Walker’s, a restaurant and bar on North Moore Street in TriBeCa, and Farrell’s Bar & Grill in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. I also learned why there are no cop bartenders:

While the police also have a long-established bar culture, officers are prohibited, by their department and the New York State Liquor Authority, from working in establishments that serve alcohol. There is no such rule for firefighters. Firefighters do not need special permission to take bartending jobs, and are allowed to work within the districts covered by their engine or ladder companies, though they are expected to cooperate if, say, their bar or club becomes overcrowded and the Fire Department is called.

A couple others they forgot to mention are the Ear Inn, which is near the NYC Fire Department Museum, and Firehouse, on the Upper West Side.

Labels: bars

Theresa rocks the house Tuesday nights.
The very best thing about running NYCBP is the people I meet. Since I started the site in 1998, it has led to more friendships and relationships than I can keep track of. One that I value very highly is with journalist and broadcaster Eddie Goldman. He usually writes about boxers and fighters. But when it was rumored that Yogi's, that venerable dive bar we love on the Upper West Side, is possibly doomed, he had to act. Today he e-mailed me this story, which I am proud to present here.


The Future of Yogi’s
by Eddie Goldman

I have been going to bars for some four decades now. I’ve been to sports bars, college bars, dive bars, hotel bars, redneck bars, Irish bars, Black bars, Latino bars, Asian bars, titty bars, and countless other variations. I’ve been to bars in numerous states in the US, as well as in Canada, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico. I’ve seen a few things in my time and also done a few things, most of which I remember.

Number one on my long list of favorite bars is Yogi’s, at Broadway and 76th Street. I first went there in the 1970’s when it was McGowan’s, an Irish bar with few Irish regulars that had become a local jazz bar. It also had one of the most diverse crowds I have ever seen anywhere, with a New York mix of ethnic groups, nationalities, ages, and classes. It was a wonderful step up from the college bars around Columbia like the West End, which had been my main haunt back then and was where I had learned how to drink.

McGowan’s and a similar bar, Clifford’s on 72nd Street, are no more. McGowan’s went through its Dark Ages as the Bear Bar before being hit by the redneck Enlightenment courtesy of the rotund impresario, Tommy McNeill. Clifford’s is no longer any kind of bar, and I even forget its exact address. I miss them both, and the people who frequented them and worked there.


Jenn & Patience are together every other Friday night.
But Yogi’s succeeded in combining the camaraderie of those old places, while exposing me and no doubt many other Yankees to the soundtrack of redneck and blue collar America. Between spending many a night at both Yogi’s and the Village Idiot, I converted to country music, yesirree I did.

Now, as I’ve grown a bit older and am less adventurous than before, and don’t have a lot of time to scour Manhattan for new bars, I prefer spending what drinking time I do have at places I know and love, such as Yogi’s, Doc Holliday’s, and, when I can make it down there, The Patriot.

The Idiot is still sorely missed, and we really don’t want any of these other landmarks to be swallowed up by some real estate sharks or android corporations. Thus, when rumors began circulating that the days of Yogi’s were numbered, I was more pissed than I get after two pitchers of MGD.

But I also hate rumors about as much as Toby Keith hates the Taliban (or, conversely, as much as Merle loves the workin’ man). So I didn’t comment much on this except to express some generic outrage at creeping gentrification and the turning over of more of the city to such monied creeps.

Now I have some data, y’all.

Tuesday morning, as it turns out, I happened to be downtown. While strolling down First Avenue, I noticed a rather large, familiar figure walking uptown. Out of the sunlight came the man himself, Tommy McNeill. I hadn’t seen him in some time, and the last couple of times I had was in his bars when he was drucking funk. Tuesday, however, he was as sober and calm as the summer air.

After some brief, bemused greetings, I asked him about the future of Yogi’s. He said it looked good, but that there were still obstacles. He explained that although they have a valid lease for some time to come, the Duane Reade store almost next to Yogi’s wants to expand (like there aren’t enough Duane Reade stores already in Manhattan, like 79th and Amsterdam, 69th and Broadway, etc.).

He said that Duane Reade was trying to pressure their landlord to get them out. But he added that they had “won round one.”


Saturday nights are for Megan fans.
Still, this fight is not over, and he is already looking for a new location very nearby the present one to relocate Yogi’s if necessary. Tommy said he wants to get the crowds coming out of the Beacon Theatre, which he acknowledged sometimes irritates the regulars but is good for business. He doesn’t have an alternative spot pinned down yet, and of course hopes to stay right where Yogi’s has been for over a decade.

Whether a new Yogi’s near the current one can duplicate the unmatched ambiance, mood, and fragrance of the original one is unknown. Hopefully we won’t have to find out.

For now, it does appear that there will be a Yogi’s for the foreseeable future. But just in case, make sure to stop by the original one when you can.

Just buy your antacids and rubbers somewhere other than that place a few doors down.

Eddie Goldman sites:
No Holds Barred blog
No Holds Barred podcast
No Holds Barred on MySpace.com

Thanks, Eddie. If you care, on Friday night we are having an NYCBP Village Idiot Reunion, to be held at Yogi's. The bartenders are Jenn and Patience. Show your support for dive bars by being there.

Labels: bars, upper west side