Thursday, August 3, 2023

Keybar has left 13th Street for life in Bushwick

ICYMI: Keybar is now closed at 432 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The bar concluded 20-plus years in business at the end of July, ahead of a move to Troutman Avenue in Bushwick. Management told us they'd debut there in the middle of this month. 

Ownership previously said that a rent hike courtesy of landlord Steve Croman was behind the relocation.

No. 432 likely won't remain vacant for long. In May 2022, CB3 approved a new liquor license for John Cutillo, who operates The Spotted Owl on the corner at 211 Avenue A, Iggy's Keltic Lounge on Ludlow and Local 138 at 181 Orchard. 

At the same meeting, CB3 denied an application for the Keybar principals to relocate to the SE corner of 13th Street and Avenue A (now a smoke shop) "because it does not show public interest and seeks a full on-premises license in a location that has never been licensed for a full on-premises liquor license in a saturated area with a history of quality of life issues on upper Avenue A."

12 comments:

  1. Thank you CB3 for being a joke and forcing a neighborhood bar to leave.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve Croman's management company deserves more of the blame for an exorbitant rent hike that forced key bar to look elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And I was just rent-hiked out of Troutman Street, go figure. That seems to be where it's all at now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That smokeshop is such an eyesore. A bar would have been a much better addition. There are already a bunch at that corner, why does an additional one matter?

    ReplyDelete
  5. So glad we got to have another blankety-blank smoke shop instead.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Really, some of this comments about losing one of one thousand bars in the EV is ridiculous. For those who have not realized it yet, this neighborhood will function like a one year Air B&B going forward. Unless you manage to buy an apartment or you live in a super rare family owned building which is not part of a realestate portfolio, better start looking in Brooklyn for an affordable place to live before the same things happens there.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That block has become a hellhole... or more precisely, a haven for unruly homeless/cracked out/mentally ill, fill-in-the-black dysfunction... Dunno whose sidewalk shed that is on the north side of 13th and A, but are we just letting this be the new fallout scene?

    ReplyDelete
  8. @7:15 this one is not like "one of the thousands of bars in the EV"
    I've only been to key bar a few times. It was vwey different than a regular bar. People were dancing, I met people, had fun. I'm an old geezer and I thought "oh, a place where people actually talk to each other and have fun!" Sad it's leaving. Should have gone there more often.

    ReplyDelete
  9. From What Now, "Functioning primarily as a bar and tavern, the bar will also accompany its drinks with burritos and pizza, though the concept isn’t envisioned as a full service restaurant."

    Think they plan on installing a wood fired pizza oven? That could be delicious.

    And we all love burritos, just hope they have vegan options.

    ReplyDelete
  10. How CB3 thinks a bar is worse than a smoke shop is beyond me, though honestly they probably DGAF and just find it easier to deny a bar than it is to consider the ramifications of having forty brightly-lit weed shops with kid-friendly marketing and absolutely no community connection... most of which will shutter in a weekend and scatter like roaches if they stop being profitable.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The sidewalk shed on the north side of 13 & A is the buildings. A couple of years ago some debris started falling so up went the shed and there it shall remain until end of times. Meanwhile on the east/north side of 13&A the new bar looks to be opening soon. One door closes, can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  12. They left the neighborhood and they left the space in shambles. I didn’t know you could get squatter rights for businesses.

    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.