Monday, August 1, 2011

Banjo Jim's closing after tomorrow night

As we first reported on July 14, Banjo Jim's will be closing... and the space on Ninth Street and Avenue C will become an "artisanal neighborhood cocktail bar" called The James Daniel.

As the sign shows out front, the bar will shutter after Tuesday night's show...


And per the Banjo Jim's website...


Previously on EV Grieve:
Banjo Jim's space to become home to an 'artisanal neighborhood cocktail bar' (47 comments)
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12 comments:

  1. Uncle WaltieAugust 1, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    I haven't commented in a few days. So without further ado, yeah Banjo Jim is closing. Another EV watering hole is giving way to artisanal cocktails.
    One of these days I'll choke them with an artisanal cucumber. Why does spell-check not recognize the word artisanal? It gets used a lot around here.

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  2. Eden BeeAugust 1, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    Sigh..one more place gone that I like to play at. Its basically just brooklyn now for me. These new clubs want you to pay to get to play there. And pay for sound though we are acoustic. Fare thee Banjo Jim's..I had many a fun night there..

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  3. Marty WombacherAugust 1, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    I'll have to stop in for a few last drinks in the place, I'm sure I won't be able to afford them when it becomes The James Daniel. What's up with that name by the way? It sounds like Jack's pretentious older brother.

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  4. Robert CerasoAugust 1, 2011 at 5:11 PM

    @Eden Bee
    We're actually going to be working with Lisa to keep some Blue Grass and American Roots Music going there and I would always love for you guys to play.

    @Marty
    We hadn't decided on a name at the time and James and Daniel were two of our Grandfather's names that we put together. We didn't realize until after that it sounded like jack Daniels.
    The current working name is The Wayland. Check out our site :thewaylandnyc,com or our facebook page: Animals Food and Drink to check our progress or contact us with any questions or concerns.
    Sincerely,
    Rob Ceraso

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  5. Bad Man YellsAugust 1, 2011 at 7:30 PM

    We are sad to see Banjo Jim's close, but honored to be on the bill for it's final night. I hop everyone can make it it by 8 to see Bad Man Yells. We are really going to miss playing here!

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  6. Marty WombacherAugust 1, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    @Rob: Thanks for the update, I like the new name a lot better. How much will a bottle of Budweiser cost?

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  7. AnonymousAugust 2, 2011 at 2:28 AM

    How do you say empty 5 days a week? They'll be gone in less than 1 year.

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  8. Robert CerasoAugust 2, 2011 at 2:36 AM

    @Marty:
    $5 will be our number for Bud bottles.
    We'll also always keep something at $4. Maybe those High Life tall boys Banjos has. I dig those things. Although I've always been a sucker for High Life bottles. The Lady in The Moon is just so pretty...
    Thanks for asking,
    Rob

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  9. AnonymousAugust 2, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    That's unfortunate. I'm in Boston and I had heard of Banjo Jim's from time to time, and was actually contemplating a Chinatown bus ride there this month to see a friend who was scheduled to play there. Oh well....

    It does seem that Manhattan's entire indie music scene is now within a comfortable walk of the Bos-NY Chinatown bus stops. That's convenient for the likes of me, but it doesn't say much about Manhattan as a whole. And actually, judging from what my musician friends have told me, Brooklyn is now where NY's indie music scene is now concentrated, despite the mostly irritating presence of a large hipster community. If this trend keeps up, in the not too distant future visiting the Village/Lower East Side area will be about as interesting as visiting the laundry detergent aisle at Walmart.

    Lastly, it seems that Manhattan needs another cocktail joint about as much as Boston needs another new pub/sports bar with 50 beers on tap -- or another championship team for that matter.

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  10. esquared™August 2, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    i'm sorry, but $5 for bud bottles? must be artisanal. for that price, only the trust fund hipsters, and the wall streeters and their obligatory model wannabes accesory by their arms will be willing to shell out that much for a bud.

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  11. AnonymousAugust 2, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    I played a around 20 or so gigs at Banjo Jims w/ a few different bands over the last several years. I'm sad its closing.
    Unfortunately, from what I saw, fewer and fewer people patronized the place. Or maybe the bands I'm playing with are getting less popular.

    I wonder how many of the negative commenters here were doing anything to keep Banjo Jims, or any other free live music venue, in business. It got to where there was usually no walk in crowd there, even on weekends.

    I don't have any interest in fancy lounges either, but fact is that in NYC many do, not just "trust fund hipsters", whoever they are. Meanwhile, few are willing to even shell out a couple bucks for live country music. Ask a salesgirl at the gap or wherever where she'd rather go and it'll be the fancy lounge every time, whether she's paying or not.

    It sucks but its not the fault of the new owners.

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  12. superkubAugust 15, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    i discovered Banjo Jim's about three years ago and what a find it was. Funky little bar with great music. I made it a point of going there every couple weeks and it was always a treat to sit there and have a few beers and listen to some great live music, (I don't think I ever saw a bad musician play there) I remember seeing a lone ukulele player there playing old standards like "Stormy Weather" and doing it well. So sorry to see a wonderful place like this being replaced by a cocktail bar, I guess we don't have enough of those. Its like having a great local restaurant being replaced by a mcdonalds. The closing of this unique place will make NYC a little more blander.

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