March 12, 2015 By Christian Murray
A new bar/restaurant is expected to open on the corner of 43rd Street and 43rd Avenue this summer.
The bar, to be called The Lowery Bar & Kitchen, will be taking over the space that was previously occupied by Sofra, a Middle Eastern restaurant that closed two months ago.
The new bar/restaurant will be owned John Keogh, an Irishman who owns a bar—called GMT Tavern– in Greenwich Village.
Keogh, who went before Community Board 2 last night as part of the process to get a liquor license, said his goal is to create a family restaurant that has “great food, great cocktails and local craft beer.”
He said that the new venue would not be a sports bar nor would it offer live music.
The bar/restaurant will have a rustic look with reclaimed wood, Keogh said. He plans to offer outdoor seating on both 43rd Street and 43rd Avenue with a retractable awning.
“I fell in love with this corner,” he said, adding that the shape of the site is similar to his Greenwich Village location.
He said he wants to add windows so the restaurant is completely visible from the outside.
Construction would take about 3 months, he said. The plan would be to open by summer if all went well.
The bar/restaurant would have between 12 to 16 bar stools—as well as tables and booths. The location can cater up to nearly 70 people.
The menu will include items such as grilled Bratwurst sausage, grass-fed burgers, steamed mussels, fish tacos and spicy roasted pumpkin.
The establishment will also offer an extensive brunch menu—featuring lamb sandwiches, oak smoked salmon and common egg dishes.
Pat O’Brien, the chairman of the liquor license committee, informed board members that the location was near apartment buildings and that there had been noise complaints concerning other establishments in that vicinity.
However, the board agreed that Keogh had a long history in the business and decided to give him the green light to open until 4 am, like similar establishments nearby such as Bar 43.
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42 Comments
how are they getting that view? Is that really the view they’d get in their space? I thought there were apartments across the street…
Irish nail salon! har har
Sounds great! It’s not an Irish Sports pub not a nail salon! Bring it!
who gives a shit if he’s Irish!!!! Seriously Christian Murray why do you need to even write that in your little blurb. What difference is ift if he’s Irish, Polish, French Black Asian White or whatever.
What does anyone give a shit for if he’s Irish.
Give it up !
Was it also inappropriate to point out that the owners of Nonna Gina are Italian?
Sounds cool! Looking forward to checking it out. The idea about making it a family restaurant is a bit annoying, though. Families have enough crap in society to keep them thinking they’re doing the right thing and to keep their sensitive feelings from getting hurt (We get it, guys – the insecurity that made you NEED to have a family makes you better than us. Enjoy your crazy-good YMCA rates. Sheesh.) Anyway, the food sounds good, and every neighborhood could use more craft beer! Yum! Cheers.
I agree! Keep your damn kids and strollers out of the bars/restaurants! You have a kid now. If you want to hang out, hire a sitter or else stay home. Don’t make us all suffer cause you decided to spawn.
Suggested solution- Family hours! Kids out of here by 7! hehehe
I loved Sofra, sad to see it go. But this sounds like a great addition to the neighborhood!
Looks great. The menu at Quaint has not changed in eons and the food at Dog and Duck is awful, so maybe this place will do it right. Hope they open by summer.
BRING IT! Bar 43 has the worst food in the hood, we need a good bar to eat at.
Thank god it isn’t going to be another Irish pub, Thai restaurant or nail salon. Or 99c store. To the negative Nancy folk: a restaurant does not = drunks. It will enhance the neigborhood. Stop being so miserable and negative. We need places like this
I’m eager to try rustic food. That Turkish place was doomed before it opened. What happened to the new Italian place where New Post Coffee Shop was? Pat O’Brien – head of the liquor license commuter? Isn’t that like the fox guarding the henhouse? Just saying.
Racist.
Are you talking about Turkish Grill? It’s actually still going. Moved locations, but still open for business. Very fattening food, though. Greasy beyond belief and carbs in every bite.
Fantastic! We need more businesses like this in our neighborhood. This place will never be like the village so for those complaining about young people running around drunk .. have not seen much of that and I have more than 15 years living in this area… This only happens where there are colleges or universities around which is clearly not the case in our neighborhood…
c’mon… CLEARLY Irish get drunk but it aint on the level of what does down with latinos in sunnysde,woodside! Those people are the drunkest motherfKKKrrs ive ever seen!!! You see em on benches, in gutters, on stoops, in doorways…..
It is racist to point out the behavior of any ethnic group along racial lines with the exception of the Irish. This policy has been in effect for hundreds of years by both tradition and case law. In your future comments please see that you adhere to it. It is culturally insensitive of you not to know that walking down Greenpoint or Roosevelt Ave. while urinating and smoking a joint and then passing out on 46St. is normal in some countries. 😉
hahaha. you’re funny, anon. (not being sarcastic) 😉
can you ban the lowlife pack of puking santas? thanks
It sounds great! Can’t wait to check it out. Welcome!
This will be a welcome addition to the area, GMT is a great bar
Maybe they should knock it down and build new apartments instead of a bar? Oh wait…………no one wants apartments either…………The whiners are never happy.
Best of luck to the new owners. I look forward to trying it out
So he gets a license to stay open until 4 but that place on the other side of the boulevard was denied? Please.
For all the whining about too many bars and liquor stores in the area there are actually less now than there were 50 years ago. Best of luck to the new owners.
It’s my impression that it’s not the bars and the liquor stores that are the problem, but the patrons. Apparently they show less respect for the neighborhood than they did 50 years ago. I believe it!
i for one welcome a new dining choice. Not to mention I doubt the type of crowd that is in to cocktails, brunch, and grass fed burgers will be too much trouble. The negativity of the commenters here never ceases to amaze me. There is nothing wrong with someone attempting to open a higher class type of cocktail bar in sunnyside. Actually, it is something that the neighborhood is currently missing. Hopefully this new place will be good.
Looks great! Welcome to the neighborhood.
Here we go. Be prepared for loud noise and more drunk hipsters on the loose.
Bore off you absolute tool. There are hardly any ‘hipsters’ that drink in Sunnyside. All I ever see is loud/foul mouthed locals and drunken Irish. Hell, I’d welcome a bar of hipsters.
Your racist comments have no place here, a. bilge. Your lot are not wanted.
Riiight… because there aren’t any drunk Irish people in Sunnyside – ever.
It’s not racist if it’s true
Ok then, let’s cover all our bases then. Irish and Hispanic drunks. (and i AM hispanic) call them all out. Drunks come in all shapes and colors. Most of the Irish drunks in Sunnyside are a little long in the tooth to be wandering around late nowadays. heh heh.
Negative comments from locals in 3…2…oh wait.
just what we needed another bar and more drunks roaming around —
From which college might they come? Sounds like a great addition to the neighborhood.
I suppose all the hard workers from LaGuardia… who have 2 jobs or a whole family… yes… definitely.
Village comes to Sunnyside?…Prepare for lots of noise and many drunken college kids…until 4:30 a.m. – Previously lived right near GMT. Not what we need in our neighborhood. Hope this place will be very different.
What is wrong with you?? GMT is near NYU, OFCOURSE there were drunk college students! Last time I checked, Sunnyside wasn’t full of college kids?! What is wrong with you lot lately, it’s like there’s a never ending supply of stupid pills being handed out in Sunnyside! Mugs!
It had more to do with how GMT was run and what they claimed to be at the community board and what they actually were when they opened. Lived there. Saw it first hand. Hope this place is what they claim it will be. But don’t have high hopes… Time will tell.
I live on the corner of 43rd St. and 43rd Ave. I love the concept and Sunnyside needs a place like this. Too many sports bars.