[Via Wikipedia Commons]
The Wall Street Journal (subscription needed) explores the apparent trend of bars opening that are "themed around famous, or semifamous, people." Like Le Boudoir in Brooklyn Heights, which was made to look like Marie Antoinette’s sitting room.
And then there is Stay Classy, the Will Ferrell-themed bar that opened last October on Rivington Street.
According to the article, there are plans to open Stay Classy locations in other cities.
Plus!
The personality-driven bar appears to be catching on. Stay Classy’s owners are planning on a similar spot themed around the filmmaker Tim Burton (“Beetlejuice,” “ Edward Scissorhands”), set to open in the East Village in May.
There isn't any mention of where this might be in the neighborhood. To be continued.
Until then. Here's more from the Journal about why bar owners are turning to gimmicks to open a new place.
Bar-industry experts say increasing competition is what is pushing bar owners to find their niche. A generation ago, it was enough for an establishment to simply market itself as a sports bar.
Now, even a craft-cocktail bar isn’t much of a distinction. “You’re going find one of those every two or three blocks in New York,” said Art Sutley, publisher of Bar Business Magazine, a trade journal.
