Butt of course! Former Cedar Tavern space becoming European Wax Center

I was enjoying a leisurely read over at Flaming Pablum... checking out a post about the Modern Lovers ... and a little West Village street art experiment when...

I had missed Alex's post from Saturday... pointing out that 82 University Place, which was home to the last incarnation of the Cedar Tavern, was becoming a European Wax Center ... with a tagline "Luxurious waxing is now for everyone."

Seems about right. The last time I looked, workers had stripped the interior, showing a charmless space fit for a ... European Wax Center?

The Cedar Tavern closed in December 2006, supposedly temporarily. Anyway, I have nothing to add to what Alex wrote. Except maybe: Ahhhhh!

Now why did I just go look inside the former Cedar Tavern...

These days, I don't have much reason to walk along University Place. However, I did head over that way this past weekend after reading Alex's post at Flaming Pablum last week about 82 University Place.

I'm not going to get into all the background about the formerly two-story building that held the last incarnation of the Cedar Tavern. As Joey Arak once put it at Curbed: "The history is long and tortured and recapping it just makes every former Cedar fan a basket case..."

Anyway, here is the new building, whose six full-floor units hit the market several years back ... now there's fresh scaffolding (for façade restoration, per the DOB), as Alex noted ...

...and the retail space where Cedar Tavern once lived is still for lease (it was going for $17,000 a month in 2010 with a different broker) ...

As far as I can recall, Cedar Tavern closed in December 2006, supposedly temporarily ... And I foolishly looked in at the old space... I'll spare you the "before" photo...

Someone finally buys the famed Cedar Tavern space

Well, here's some news that may (or may not!) cause our blogging friend Alex at Flaming Pablum to punch a few walls.

The Real Deal's Amy Tennery reports that the 2,295-square-foot retail condo unit and former home of the Cedar Tavern (RIP, 2006) has sold for $1.5 million.

Per the article:

The unit, located on the bottom floor of 82 University Place, a seven-unit condominium on the corner of 11th Street, was sold by Michael Diliberto, the building's developer and former owner of Cedar Tavern, which counted Jackson Pollock and Jack Kerouac among its patrons during its roughly 40-year tenure.

The sale came under major duress from lender Flushing Savings Bank, according to Kevin Salmon, a partner at the firm who helped broker the deal. After almost five months on the market, the unit sold to property owner Ascot Properties for $1 million less than its original asking price.

And a sale doesn't mean a Cedar Tavern revival. According to the article, there are restrictions specifically blocking a bar or restaurant from opening here.

As Alex wrote last month: "The fact that it's still an ugly, empty shell of a yanwsomely utilitarian workspace in the wake of it replacing a beloved neighborhood institution is still an untrammeled insult."

Oh, and here's another Austin, Texas/SXSW connection for you. As Grub Street reported, the owner sold the Cedar Tavern's bar to some nightlife types in Austin.

Former Cedar Tavern is now "retail space available"

Well, plenty has been written about what's taking the space of the former Cedar Tavern location on University Place...six "floor-through loft-like residences," according to the listings. And it looks as if two units are left -- including the $3.4 million duplex penthouse!



And what about the groundfloor? I thought a tenant had already been lined up ...



For further reading:
Development Du Jour: 82 University Place (fka Cedar Tavern) (Curbed)

Pining for the Cedar (Flaming Pablum)

Meanwhile, Back on University Place (Flaming Pablum)

The bar at Cedar Tavern is moving to Austin, Texas

Grub Street's Daniel Maurer has the scoop on the fate of the beloved Cedar Tavern on University Place. No surprise. "Longtime owner Mike Diliberto now confirms with us that he won’t be reopening the Cedar. “As much as I know it’s going to be missed,” he says, “I think putting a bar beneath a condominium doesn’t do much for the value.” Oh, and the actual turn-of-the-century bar that we loved to stare at was sold to some nightlife types in Austin, Texas.

RIP Cedar Tavern

Well, we didn't have much hope of the Cedar Tavern on University returning after it closed for "renovations" or whatever back in December 2006. Anyway, The Real Deal has an article today on the former haunt that attracted the likes of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Jack Kerouac.

"Cedar is past. Cedar is history. It means something to me. It doesn't mean something to the next generation," co-owner Michael Diliberto said.

Ugh. We had many great times at the Cedar. It wasn't a dive bar in the tradition of Sophie's, but, despite the tourists, there was a similar community spirit. (And we loved Bernie the bartender.) Meanwhile, every day, Manhattan dies a little bit more. Do we really need more condos in the city starting at $1.7 million?

Bonus fun fact: According to Bob Spitz's Dylan: A Biography, D.A. Pennebaker, Dylan, and Bobby Neuwirth met to plan the shooting of Don't Look Back in the Cedar Tavern.