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July 13, 2009

Manhattans: Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow?

TracyWestmoreland.jpgBrooklyn the Borough is reporting that Manhattans, the Washington Avenue bar opened by Tracy Westmoreland only a few months ago, is already in danger of closing. Westmorland, who was also behind the shuttered Hell's Kitchen dive Siberia, says his main investor in the bar is threatening to turn the lights out. Westmoreland is seeking an angel for the venture and some of the bar's fans have set up a website site soliciting PayPal donations to help keep the business running. In a phone call yesterday Westmoreland said Manhattans is operating on a "week-to-week" basis and that it would, at the very least, be open through next weekend.
Under Threat of Closing, Manhattans Bar Seeks New Investor [BTB] GMAP
Save Manhattans [Official Site]
Manhattans in Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
Photo of Westmoreland from Brooklyn the Borough.




Posted by Gabby at 11:09 AM | Comments (18)
Categories: Food and Drink, Prospect Heights

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Comments

quote:
soliciting PayPal donations

:-/ x infinity.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 13, 2009 11:19 AM

also it's a BAR. not the Make a Wish Foundation.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 13, 2009 11:20 AM

"some of the bar's fans have set up a website site soliciting PayPal donations to help keep the business running."

Why don't they just buy more drinks!!!!! Losers.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 13, 2009 11:23 AM

I'm with Rob. If you want to support them try depleting their stock. Buy a brew. Donations for a bar? Weird.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at July 13, 2009 11:24 AM

paper in the windows, pitiful draft selection, filthy and dank. it's a middle finger to the neighborhood.

i guess trying to 'cultivate' a dive bar has backfired.

Posted by: Fjorder at July 13, 2009 11:26 AM

you can't make a dive bar. dive bars just happen.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at July 13, 2009 11:34 AM

too cool for school. I actually tried to go there right after it opened, but couldn't find.

Posted by: Art Salt at July 13, 2009 11:43 AM

i knew somebody who actually taught an architecture seminar on how to "create" a dive bar. it was then i confirmed for all eternity that getting out of academia was a good move for me.

Posted by: i disagree at July 13, 2009 11:44 AM

Something doesn't seem right.
Why was the deal with the investor structured so that he / she can demand instant repayment?
I can't see why the investor's financial difficulties should have any bearing on the bar unless the bar needs more capital from the investor (i.e. if it is not generating cash).
If that is the case then it's probably not a good investment for anyone else.

Posted by: etson at July 13, 2009 11:47 AM

It was all downhill after Siberia moved out of the subway station. That was a truly weird dive. Every venture after that was an attempt to recapture the authentic oddness of the original.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 13, 2009 11:47 AM

I've been there a couple times and it's a laid-back little place to grab a beer. It will be a shame if it closes.

Posted by: spnder at July 13, 2009 11:59 AM

To echo Art Salt, I also tried REALLY hard to go there to get a drink about a month a half ago. They were impossible to find, they were closed, they were virtually invisible. So I can't say that I'm surprised. Business model, anyone?

Posted by: shovel lover at July 13, 2009 12:37 PM

If a random leftist coffee shop on Cortelyou Road could raise $64000 in donations to keep its doors open, there's no reason this guy, who's much better-known, couldn't do the same. That said, I wouldn't donate to a private business. Go and drink, you blockheads!

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at July 13, 2009 3:00 PM

"Why don't they just buy more drinks!!!!! Losers."

Right?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 13, 2009 3:55 PM

The guy who owns this place has no business sense. He's designed the bar to actually hide it from the neighborhood: newspaper on the windows, entry accessible only through being buzzed in a locked door, no sign. Once inside, the place looks pathetic, with no renovation and a shitty selection of beers. Really, I can't think of a better prescription for failure.

Posted by: Big Jugs at July 13, 2009 7:59 PM

One time i was at Soda (nearby bar that i'm sure all the Manhattans naysayers here love) and someone threw up on the floor out on the patio. The smelly throw-up was right under a table and chairs so no one could use them. No one cleaned it up the whole night even though the patio was full of people and even though several employees walked by it repeatedly. It was great, what a classy joint!

Posted by: werner at July 13, 2009 10:33 PM

I went to this place and ordered a Manhattan, and the bartender rolled his eyes. It's in the name! That's like going to IHOP and getting attitude for ordering pancakes.

Posted by: MyerB at July 14, 2009 2:53 PM

I liked the vibe initially, but the place just creeps me out now. bad vibes. Also, I've showed up late night twice in a row just to find it closed. Is two thirty really that late people?

FYI: the whole locked door, paper on the windows thing is just a way for them to keep out black folks from the neighborhood (gotta preserve that divebar atmosphere, eh?). I've heard people trying to rationalize it every which way, but I can't see it as anything other than racist.

Posted by: levitation at July 26, 2009 11:21 AM

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