Bowery Beef opened up in the Bowery Poetry Club back in February ... And, well, we rather liked their $5 roast beef sandwich (so did Sietsema!) and coffee...
Anyway, the place wasn't open the last few times we stopped by.
So we asked one of the owners, Ray LeMoine, a few questions via email ... and turned it into a handy-dandy Q-and-A:
Is Bowery Beef closed for good at its current location?
Not 100 percent sure yet. But it looks like we may move to another location.
What happened?
We were robbed four times in one week. Bowery Beef was located in the entryway of the Poetry Club, and they stay open until 4 am. We closed due to the robbery losses and the lack of security. On top of that, we never hit the dinner rush we needed. Since there's no wall between the cafe and stage, it was essential that Beef was virtually silent during readings, which wasn't suitable for dinner.
How would describe your experience at the Bowery Poetry Club?
They had like seven managers and we never felt cohesion. But we're still working with Bob Holman, the owner of Bowery Poetry Club. Holman has taken over the club's booking and we are placing readings and events in an increased capacity. So our experience is ongoing.
Holman wants to turn the Beef space into a bookstore, and we'd help with that. Our neighbors, The Hole Gallery, have a book shop, carrying mostly art titles. Bowery Poetry Club's shop would be more literary fiction/non-fiction and of course poetry. A mini-book row on Bowery seems like a wonderful thing.
A lot of people really liked your food. Are you planning on reopening in a new location?
Thanks. We have a handful of options on Bowery and want to stay in Noho. We're talking with friends and neighbors about a Bowery Beef hybrid similar to what we did with Poetry, meaning a cultural component.
Longtime operator Greg Brier is our partner and we are scouting for all sorts of projects, not just Beef-related, and not just in Manhattan. One of our ideas is an artisinal whorehouse/casino pop-up, called Area 69, with male hookers dressed as sexy vegan aliens, sustainable poker chips and a green building made of composted human shit. We have a great secret location in Nevada. We'll be open for NYE 2012 baby!
Previously on EV Grieve:
Where's the Bowery Beef?
Bowery Poetry Club to get literary cafe, roast beef
Bookstore-cafe wanted for the Bowery Poetry Club
11 comments:
Oh no! hope they stay in the neighborhood.
a bookstore would be great
Here's hoping they reopen, and maybe in a place more suited to making money. The beef sandwiches were awesome.
I love their food. BUT I did feel awkward eating there. I really hope they find a new home. A book store sounds like the perfect match for the club....
Oh, hoping for a mini-poetry row on the Bowery AND artisanal vegan alien male whores in the desert! Bread and roses! Dance and revolution!
PS I keep kosher. Please bear this in mind.
@ Marjorie
Yeah, but I'm tired of the continued objectification of vegan alien male whores. Why aren't any of the candidates talking about this?
BPC used to have a bookstore (really, a book "area") in the front area, by the stairs. I sold my stuff there, happy to hear it might return in some form.
Hello Mr. Grieve. How can I get in touch with this guy?
@Christopher
Send me an email! grieve98@gmail.com
...an artisinal whorehouse/casino pop-up, called Area 69, with male hookers dressed as sexy vegan aliens, sustainable poker chips and a green building made of composted human shit...
You'd sell a lot of roast beef sandwiches if you asked for a liquor license with that, um, business proposal. The only thing I'd change is the name of the place. Chillmaster is the kind of place I'd trust with roast beef, not Area 69.
Did anyone really think that a beef sandwich shop in a place frequented by vegan poets was really going to work? Someone wasn't thinking straight.
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