Farewell to the Emerald Inn

This just makes me sick. The Emerald Inn on Columbus Avenue (near 69th Street) will be closing next spring. Rent for the bar, which opened in 1943, "is more than doubling" to $350,000 a year "for the cozy, 800-square-foot saloon."

And get this: Owner Charlie Campbell, whose grandfather opening the place when FDR was in office, "got the bad news when he saw the location advertised for lease on the Web site of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis."

Here's some of the report from the Post:

The cozy inn, with a few booths and faded pictures on the walls, was once well known as a "beer and a shot" joint.

In the mid-1980s, Columbus Avenue was a rough stretch of blue-collar taverns, bodegas and hardware stores, with few of today's high-end boutiques and beaneries.

But the Upper West Side's whirlwind gentrification changed everything, and the Emerald Inn today draws mostly upscale customers.

Among them yesterday was Michael Morfit, 46, a partner in Lighthouse Financial, who said he comes in twice a week.

"We used to have all these ma-and-pa shops," Morfit lamented over a couple of Buds. "Now all you have is big companies like Circuit City and Best Buy, because smaller companies can't afford the rents."

Well, I'll spare you from yammering away about how much I like the Emerald Inn. It's expected to close in May. Go and enjoy while you can... and stop by the P&G while you're at it.

Hope for the Emerald Inn

Steve Cuozzo had this (third item) in his column yesterday:

All might not be lost for the Emerald Inn, the beloved Irish pub at 205 Columbus Ave. that's losing its lease in May.

As The Post recently reported, the cozy little bar, which has been there for 66 years, can't afford an increase to $350,000 year in rent - more than twice what it currently pays.

Owner Charlie Campbell and legions of regulars were heartbroken.

But Walker & Malloy broker Rafe Evans, who's negotiated scores of Upper West Side retail leases, said he's willing to help Campbell find another location nearby.

"They have expressed interest in keeping the legend alive," Evans said.

But it won't be on Columbus Avenue.

"They can only afford to be on a side street, maybe West 72nd Street," Evans said, where rents are lower.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Farewell to the Emerald Inn

FINALLY: Some good bar-related news

The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side saloon that has been serving up drinks since FDR was in office, will live. And you can thank the recession for it.

In September, manager Charlie Campbell learned that rent would double to nearly $35,000 a month for its 800-square-foot space on Columbus Avenue near 69th Street. (Sidenote: How did he learn of this? He saw the location advertised for lease on the Web site of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis. Nice!)

Anyway, according to the Times today:

Like so many other stalwart-but-doomed Manhattan holdouts that have lost their leases under the pressure of gentrification, the Emerald — as its habitués call it — was scheduled to close at the end of April; its rent was to more than double.

But the watering hole . . . has won a two-year lease extension thanks to “the whole down economy, where they can’t find a tenant who will pay that much,” said Mike Campbell, 77, the Emerald’s owner.

Indeed, the reprieve “has to do with the economy — and the kind of people the Campbells are,” said Mike Clarke, an owner of the A. J. Clarke Real Estate Corporation, which manages the five-story apartment building in which the Emerald resides. Mr. Campbell’s son Charlie, 49, manages the bar.

As one patron said, "Columbus Avenue has been turning into a strip mall, with chain stores and restaurants. Maybe the recession will help the mom-and-pops stay in business.”

Finally, a little history on the place via the Times:

Mike Campbell’s father (also Mike) opened the Emerald with his brother William. “Exactly when, we’re not sure, but it was 1943 or 1944,” Charlie Campbell said.

The Emerald has been an enduring link to the West Side’s raffish past, when Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues were populated by gin mills and where brawls among patrons, enthusiastically mediated by bruiser bartenders, were not unusual.

“We were called Spanish Harlem until the ’60s, when they put in Lincoln Center,” said Charlie Campbell. In recent decades, the clientele has gone upscale, to professionals who can afford Upper West Side housing, along with a sprinkling of loyal locals, some of them survivors of the era when “West Side Story” was a contemporary narrative.

Previous Emerald coverage on EV Grieve here.

Report: Upper West Side old-timer Emerald Inn will likely close for good this spring

Stepping away from the neighborhood for a minute. The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side saloon that has been serving up drinks since FDR was in office, looks like a goner, again. A huge rent hike nearly killed it a few years back, but the landlord couldn't find a tenant who'd pay $35,000 a month for the 800-square-foot space during the recession.

Now, though. The West Side Rag reports this afternoon that the landlord has already been showing the space to other prospective tenants. As they report: "The unpretentious bar now has some very tony neighbors, including high-end retailers like Helmut Lang and Club Monaco, and rents have escalated."

The current lease is up May 1.

Previously.

H/t Eater

Report: Emerald Isle closing on April 30, becoming a Kate Spade store

EVG favorite The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side saloon that has been serving up drinks since FDR was in office, is officially closing on April 30. The fucking rent increased from $17,500 to $35,000. And because this is the way of NYC these days — a Kate Spade store is taking over the space.

West Side Rag had the scoop. The Times confirmed the closure.

Previously.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Outside Grace Church on Broadway and East 10th Street. Photo by Evan OHara]

Six miracles of East Village Ungentrification (Fork in the Road)

Video: John Penley is an Anarcho Yippie (Vimeo)

The tragedy of Cooper Union (Felix Salmon/Reuters)

Did 7-Eleven kill this Chelsea deli? (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Proposed Soho House on Ludlow to show Taylor Mead films next week (The Lo-Down)

West Village co-op sues over Citi Bikes docking stations (DNAinfo)

Emerald Inn is closing. But moving! (West Side Rag)

Where you can find a SF Burrito Mojado in the East Village (Fork in the Road)

Clemente Soto Velez Center wins Landmarks Conservancy Award (BoweryBoogie)

FlipKey looking to turn Stuy Town into hotels for tourists (New York Post)

Selling the CBGB movie overseas (Deadline.com)

Alleged costumers customers of notorious LES drug ring included bartender at the Bowery Hotel (New York Post)

Springtime summer in the city (Slum Goddess)

Revisiting some lost storefronts (Flaming Pablum)

East River Park in 1902 (Ephemeral New York)

The Holland Bar may be open as soon as tomorrow! (Though you may not recognize much)

As we reported last week, the Holland Bar is set to reopen...very soon. The Times follows up today with confirmation the old joint on Ninth Avenue may be up and running by tomorrow. Golly. The Times talks with the bar's owner, Gary Kelly:

[L]ast summer the Holland became one of those typical New York institutions: the beloved local haunt forced to shut down. According to Mr. Kelly, who has owned the bar since 1998, the landlord refused to renew the lease in the hopes that he could make more money converting the building for residential use or selling it off. But such plans apparently did not work out, and the landlord offered Mr. Kelly his old space back starting Jan. 1, albeit at a 20 percent increase in the rent. Now the Holland is scheduled to reopen its taps as soon as Wednesday.

But will we recognize the place?

Although the location will be familiar to patrons, Mr. Kelly still had to start practically from scratch in recreating the place. Since the Holland closed its doors, the bar had been destroyed, the plumbing had been removed, the floor had been ripped out.

And much of the physical record of the bar’s history that had been pasted to its walls — the photographs of customers who had died years before, the posters for shows at the dear, departed CBGB — is gone, too.

Hmm, still, I'll take it. So the Holiday is back...The Emerald Inn won't have to close...and Frankie and Johnnie's will live...

For further reading:
Holland Bar (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
Brightening Light at the End of the Holland Tunnel (Lost City)

A few more details about East Side Tavern, coming to the former Redhead space

As we noted way back on Dec. 28, an applicant is vying for a new liquor license for the former Redhead space, 349 E. 13th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The applicant's application (PDF!) is now live on the CB3 website. The venture, going as East Side Tavern, will serve "American fare" in a dining room that seats 44 guests. There's also a 14-seat bar. The proposed hours are 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.; with opening times at 11 a.m. for weekend brunch. (The application also notes "acoustic live music on occasion.")

The applicant, Michael Stewart, is also behind Tavern on Jane at 31 Eighth Ave.

Here's what New York magazine had to say about Tavern on Jane, which opened in 1995:

Bleecker Street may be teeming with expensive boutiques and cupcake tourists, but the Village vibe lives on at Tavern on Jane. With vintage posters on its exposed brick, an embossed ceiling, and low, topaz lighting, the dining area feels as inviting as a bustling English roadside inn. Most customers sip brimming pints of ale in the front room’s convivial bar, or settle into the back room to doodle with fat crayons on each table’s butcher paper. The Tavern’s brand of classy pub grub goes for hearty flavors over foppish modern flourishes. Tender, marinated hanger steak comes with your choice of potato and vegetable — the emerald asparagus is charred and sweet, while potatoes au gratin have the creamy bite of blue cheese. The grilled, juicy burger, capped with gooey cheddar, comes nestled inside a toasted bun and served with tawny fries and a dish of sweet coleslaw...

The Redhead closed here last month after a successful 10-year run.

CB3's SLA committee meeting is 6:30 p.m. on Monday in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Side Tavern in the works for former Redhead space on 13th Street

CB3 gives OK for East Side Tavern to take over the former Redhead space on 13th Street

As we've noted, Michael Stewart, a co-owner of Tavern on Jane at 31 Eighth Ave., is opening East Side Tavern in the former Redhead space on 13th Street.

On Monday night, CB3's SLA committee gave their blessing for the new venture. And those in attendance were happy about the arrival. Per BoweryBoogie: "It was a rare sight to see so many longtimers in attendance to support Stewart’s endeavor."

Several EVG readers have said they liked the idea of a Tavern of Jane-type place in this neighborhood. Per one commenter: "Tavern on Jane is the sort of place I'd love to see in the EV: not overly expensive, decent food in a nice surrounding, no uber-trends or the sort of crowd that rushes in to be part of a 'scene.' If the new place is like ToJ, then that could be a nice addition to the hood."

Here's what New York magazine had to say about Tavern on Jane, which opened in 1995:

Bleecker Street may be teeming with expensive boutiques and cupcake tourists, but the Village vibe lives on at Tavern on Jane. With vintage posters on its exposed brick, an embossed ceiling, and low, topaz lighting, the dining area feels as inviting as a bustling English roadside inn. Most customers sip brimming pints of ale in the front room’s convivial bar, or settle into the back room to doodle with fat crayons on each table’s butcher paper. The Tavern’s brand of classy pub grub goes for hearty flavors over foppish modern flourishes. Tender, marinated hanger steak comes with your choice of potato and vegetable — the emerald asparagus is charred and sweet, while potatoes au gratin have the creamy bite of blue cheese. The grilled, juicy burger, capped with gooey cheddar, comes nestled inside a toasted bun and served with tawny fries and a dish of sweet coleslaw...

Stewart said that he will replicate that Tavern on Jane vibe on 13th Street. "My whole idea is to make it feel exactly the same as Tavern on Jane feels," he told DNAinfo.

After a few minor renovations Stewart hopes to have East Side Tavern open in March. The committee did stipulate a 2 a.m. closing time instead of the proposed 4 a.m. hour. (East Side will close on midnight on Sundays.)

The Redhead closed here just west of First Avenue last month after 10 years in business.