Wednesday, November 7, 2018

The Mars Bar lives! (in a penthouse suite in Times Square)


[Mars Bar photo courtesy of Karla and James Murray]

The dear old Mars Bar (RIP July 2011) over on Second Avenue and First Street has been immortalized in an unexpected place — a penthouse suite at the recently renovated Row NYC hotel on Eighth Avenue...

An EVG reader shared this find... behold the Penthouse Suite, with an entry featuring a life-sized Mars Bar storefront photo-printed on the wall...


[Click to go big]

Per the Row NYC website:

For a truly unforgettable stay, our Penthouse Suites are the ultimate uptown indulgence. Featuring one or two-bedroom options with separate living areas – along with a wet bar and kitchenette for entertaining – they hold our most-desired accommodations with top-notch city views and unparalleled touches to make your stay even more extraordinary.

Per the EVG reader: "If the guests only knew..."

If you're unfamiliar with the Mars Bar, well, it was a shithole — the best, really. (I write that with great affection.)


[Mars Bar photo by Eden from 2009]

It never reopened after a DOH inspector found 850 (or so) fruit flies, standing water, cracked walls and other unsanitary conditions in July 2011. What else was new?

Anyway, for upwards of $500, you can see the Mars Bar on your penthouse walls.

And Mars Bar owner Hank Penza was right. In an interview leading up to the closure, he said: "Fuck the bar. What am I, crazy? There's a beginning and an end. You hear? The Mars Bar will live forever and I'll die." (Penza died in October 2015 at age 82.)

The corner storefronts where Mars Bar stood were eventually demolished in late 2011/early 2012 to make way for the 12-story residential building Jupiter 21. The corner space now houses a TD Bank and The Alchemist's Kitchen, a cafe and shop that sells botanical medicines, herbal remedies and whole plant beauty products.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the Mars Bar yesterday, the DOH found 850 fruit flies (or so)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry folks, I got a little drunk that day.

Anonymous said...

Authentrification outrage porn doesn't do it for me anymore. I have moved on I guess.

Unknown said...

2nd coming of Mars when New York City rots,rot yuppy scum

JQ LLC said...

Well they co-opted/plundered Mr. Purple (despite his sordid criminal past) so why not do the same authentrification with the Mars bar.


Eden Bee said...

I just love that my pic of Naked Guy is still going strong after a decade!

Unknown said...

I used to walk past that place during the day time and saw people passed out on the sidewalk in front of the Mars bar. That is the old LES/EV which you don't see much anymore now it is just mostly the 20 somethings bridge and tunnel crowd throwing up on the sidewalk after overdoing it and having too much to drink with their friends. Welcome to the new LES/EV which has become more expensive and classier but still somehow attracts the heavy drinkers of the Tri-State area.

John Penley said...

Right after Mars Bar closed one of my friends broke into the bar and stole all the booze they had left behind and about 15 squatters and street punks sat around outside and finished the last of the Mars Bars boooze off.

yipyap said...

Yeah, I'm curious what 'naked guy' is all about. I love that in the pic, no one is paying him any mind. ;-) Was he a nudist or something that was always there, so everyone was accustomed to his letting it all hang out, while at the bar? ;-)

ministerprime said...

And that was at the beginning of the night

Giovanni said...

I’d heard that the naked guy at Mars Bar had lost his shirt in a card game, but the missing pants are the real mystery.

Anonymous said...

John Penley, that is the only thing about Mars Bars demise that has ever made me feel better about it.

Brian said...

Authentrification and nostalgiamythofication postgentrification.

Eden Bee said...

Naked Guy was promised a free beer if he got naked so he did then never put his clothes back on. Have more pics of him that are funny on my blog maybe...which I am ending Jan 1st for good! Check it out while you can!

Unknown said...

The naked guy behind the bar is hot .
I think I see hair on his back I love that.