Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Here's more about the renovations underway at HiFi on Avenue A



You may have noticed some work happening over at HiFi, one of our favorite bars around (long live EL DJ!).

Proprietor Mike Stuto explained all in a blog post yesterday at the HiFi website. For starters, workers will be renovating the interior and exterior of the bar at 169 Avenue A near East 11th Street... which means HiFi will be closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and maybe a few Wednesdays in the coming weeks.

"We’re going to do this long-awaited redesign in little pieces so we don’t have to close down on the weekends," Stuto wrote.

And what about the redesign?

[T]he idea is to NOT change the vibe, appeal, and personality of HiFi. We hope that will all stay pretty much the same as it has always been ... The short description is that we will be redesigning the entrance and storefront, changing the furniture and the colors, and adding in a 40-ish capacity room with its own separate bar that will have a myriad of uses; from private parties to trivia nights, comedy nights, readings, and even some live music. For those of you who still pine for the days when I ran a rock club in this space, this is NOT a return to the golden era of Brownies ... there will be no drum sets played inside HiFi."

You can see the transformation for yourself when the bar is open.

"So for the next few weeks please join us for a strangely-fun, sometimes-truncated, surely-temporary version of the bar while we jump through the hoops of framing, painting, bathroom-relocating, new-room-building, furniture acquiring and re-upholstering, and many other re-workings ..."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought they were installing new protective measures to keep them safe from 7-11.

Dave - everywhere said...

Most importantly - the pool table stays??? My wife and I stop in to play pool about once every 5 or 6 weeks on a Friday before it gets crowded. Love the place!

Bowery Boogie said...

hopefully the photo booth remains after the transition.

Anonymous said...

"For those of you who still pine for the days when I ran a rock club in this space, this is NOT a return to the golden era of Brownies"

In other words, it'll be much like the new Continental -- still has the 'vibe, appeal, and personality' of the old one but catering to new demographics of the EV. Can't blame him, times have changed.

Trixie said...

Thanks @boweryboogie The Photo Booth will remain, and as a matter of fact, it will soon be better integrated into the bar. As long as people still want to use it and get their pictures taken there, the photo booth will remain!

Anonymous said...

Soon to be LoFi attracting those from FiDi, WaHi, DoBro, and bros.

Anonymous said...

Love Hi-Fi and loved Brownies before. I'm sure it will be fantastic whatever they do.