Thursday, March 29, 2012

Joe's Bar is joining the Sophie's-Mona's family

[Joe's Bar last fall]

Longtime favorite Joe's Bar on East Sixth Street has remained closed since proprietor Joe Vajda died this past Thanksgiving. (Joe's opened in that space in 1973. Joe and two other partners previously had a place across the street.)

There were rumors that several people were looking to take over the space between Avenue A and Avenue B from Joe's domestic partner Dottie.

Richard Corton confirmed that he and his business partner Kirk Marcoe, who own Mona's and Sophie's, have signed a lease and sales contract with Dottie.

Which will all be good news for anyone tired of bars with drinks toting, say, heritage pork-infused artisanal ice cubes and shaved nutmeg. And good news for people who really like the neighborhood aspect of Joe's (and great neighborhood bars like Sophie's and Mona's), something in short supply around here these days. Corton isn't expecting to modify much about Joe's.

"Small changes. Clean up. Maybe, if we feel ambitious, we might redo the wallpaper with exactly the same wallpaper. We love that wallpaper but it is in really bad shape," Corton said via Facebook.

Meanwhile, Corton and Marcoe need to seek the approval of CB3 (they are on April's agenda) and obtain a Letter of No Objection from the DOB. If all goes well, then they plan to open this July.

One last detail.

"Per Dottie's request, we are gonna change the name," Corton said. "Joe's will become Josie's."

19 comments:

  1. Awesome. I'm so happy to have it back open!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Finally some good news from the Grieve!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This makes my day! Can't wait for it to open up again! I hope they keep the jukebox! Great news!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Congrats Richard, Kirk and Dottie.

    Finally, I get to go to CB3 and SUPPORT a bar!

    Love that they changed the name to bring it in the family with the other two!

    Aw man folks, y'all just made my day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. This is the best news we've had in a LONG while. I loved Joe's because it was quiet, unpretentious and friendly. Mona's and Sophie's are both excellent neighborhood places and Josie's will make the perfect addition to the family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joe's bar sucks, two kinds of beer, bad and worse.

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Anonymous 2:56 PM: In my opinion, humble as it is, bars aren't about beers, they're about the people inside of them and the folks that own them and work there. And my times at Joe's, the place was always filled with an A-1 crowd in front of the bar and behind it. I'm looking forward to opening night!

    ReplyDelete
  8. the trilogy of salvation for abc city

    ReplyDelete
  9. Excellent news. I was worried what would happen here.

    ReplyDelete
  10. great news. Kirk lives in my building and he's a nice guy. these bars make a great old-school trifecta. as someone pointed out, finally some good news!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm all for it, but I hope they'll clean the damn lines...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Re-opening night will be awesome.

    Can't wait to see Marty, Goggla, and all the other reasons I live in NYC.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hope they keep that beat-up locker in the back with the Dave Winfield sticker on it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tribute mix to the Joe's jukebox:

    http://spoti.fi/yRJ6oc

    ReplyDelete
  15. I hope everyone shows their support for this bar like they did for Joe. Joe's was awesome, especially if the old timers remember all the "free" New Year's buffets and music that went on there! Good luck to Dottie with her retirement, RIP Joe (you're the best!) and good luck to the hopefully new owners Rich and Kirk. You all deserve a big pat on the back! Can't wait to come to the bar again. It has some really fond memories for me and my family over the past 30 plus years!!!

    ReplyDelete

Your remarks and lively debates are welcome, whether supportive or critical of the views herein. Your articulate, well-informed remarks that are relevant to an article are welcome.

However, commentary that is intended to "flame" or attack, that contains violence, racist comments and potential libel will not be published. Facts are helpful.

If you'd like to make personal attacks and libelous claims against people and businesses, then you may do so on your own social media accounts. Also, comments predicting when a new business will close ("I give it six weeks") will not be approved.