Last call for the Motor City Bar today

The Motor City Bar closes for good after tonight. The landlord chose not to renew the bar's lease... Motor City opened at 127 Ludlow in 1996.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

Reminders: Motor City Bar will be burning today (and tonight)

Here's a reminder about Motor City Bar's closing-night party that we first mentioned back on April 30...



From the EV Grieve inbox...

The once vibrantly creative and bohemian Lower East Side is a thing of the past, with the final nail in the coffin coming next month, when Motor City Bar closes its doors for the last time. The bar is open over the next few weeks, so make sure you stop by for a few cocktails in the meantime.

On Sunday, June 23rd, come and celebrate 17 years of sex, drugs and rock n roll with some of the best people you'd ever care to meet. Come and give a long kiss goodbye to the amazing owners, bartenders, dancers, DJs, Detroit memorabilia, and those infamous bathrooms!

A big thank you to all those who have lived, loved, laughed, cried, danced, yelled, fallen down, met future partners, found jobs, been inspired, or just generally had a great time in this wonderful establishment these past two decades. To say it will be sorely missed would be an understatement. RIP.

Note: The bar will remain open until midnight on the 30th of June, when the keys are finally handed over.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

Motor City Bar to remain open through June

Closing night party: Motor City Bar is burning...

Here's more information about Motor City Bar's closing-night party that we mentioned back on April 30...



From the EV Grieve inbox...

The once vibrantly creative and bohemian Lower East Side is a thing of the past, with the final nail in the coffin coming next month, when Motor City Bar closes its doors for the last time. The bar is open over the next few weeks, so make sure you stop by for a few cocktails in the meantime.

On Sunday, June 23rd, come and celebrate 17 years of sex, drugs and rock n roll with some of the best people you'd ever care to meet. Come and give a long kiss goodbye to the amazing owners, bartenders, dancers, DJs, Detroit memorabilia, and those infamous bathrooms!

A big thank you to all those who have lived, loved, laughed, cried, danced, yelled, fallen down, met future partners, found jobs, been inspired, or just generally had a great time in this wonderful establishment these past two decades. To say it will be sorely missed would be an understatement. RIP.

Note: The bar will remain open until midnight on the 30th of June, when the keys are finally handed over.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

Motor City Bar to remain open through June

Motor City Bar to remain open through June

Back in February, we first heard that Motor City Bar would be closing on Ludlow.

At the time, we heard they'd close sometime between March and June.

Here's an update from the Motor City folks: They plan to be open through June. And there's a Grand Finale Party planned for June 23 featuring The Swingin' Neckbreakers. Stay tuned for more details.

The landlord chose not to renew the bar's lease... Motor City opened at 127 Ludlow in 1996.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

More about Pink Pony and Motor City Bar closing on Ludlow Street

As we first reported on Monday afternoon, the 18-year-old Motor City Bar on Ludlow Street would be closing this spring. Their current lease expires at the end of the month. It was all but a done deal, a tipster told us.

Co-owner Francesca Romeo confirmed this to The Lo-Down yesterday, noting that the bar's landlord "did not give the option of renewal."

Also on Monday, BoweryBoogie had the scoop that the Pink Pony on Ludlow had also closed for good. In a follow-up piece, Cara Buckley at The New York Times reported that the cafe closed, in part, because the landlord increased the rent from $14,000 to $20,000 a month.

The owner, Lucien Bahaj, who also runs Lucien on First Avenue, said that the landlord "had been reasonable and patient, and was merely asking for market rent." Plus: "[H]is cafe had come to seem out of step in a neighborhood sprouting condominium towers, boutique hotels, mixologists and sports bars."

Here's more from Buckley's piece:

The bar captured a fast retreating moment in the evolution – some may say devolution – of the Lower East Side, a time when patrons read those books and flocked for documentary screenings and poetry nights.

Bahaj said this to the Daily News yesterday:

"It's not a tragedy. It belonged to an era and the era changed and I changed with it. All my customers have left or changed. The neighborhood used to be full of creative types — painters, writers, filmmakers. We don’t have that anymore."

Who do we have?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

[Image via Tripping With Marty]

Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

Earlier today, BoweryBoogie noted the closure of the Pink Pony on Ludlow Street.

Now word is spreading this afternoon about the pending closure of another Ludlow Street mainstay — the 18-year-old Motor City Bar.

A tipster says that the lease is up at the end of the month for the rock-and-roll flavored bar at 127 Ludlow St. ... the bar is expected to close at some point between March and June.

Per the tipster: "Ludlow Street is done!"