If I’m being honest, I must concede that when it first opened in the early `90s, I was not at all fond of Bowery Bar, the suddenly hip & chic hotspot that opened in the footprint of a former Gulf station on East 4th Street. Being more inclined towards the grittier fare of CBGB and the like just a few steps down the Bowery and not really identifying with the fabulous "Club Kid" crowd the Bowery Bar seemed to cater to, I just didn't feel that it was my scene, so to speak.
I also harbored a grudge against the place, as I was under the impression, at the time, that it was originally the same gas station wherein they’d filmed the music video for Billy Joel’s godawful “Uptown Girl.” As it turns out, that was at a different gas station a block or so away (remember when gas stations were plentiful in Manhattan?), but whatever – I’d already made up my mind. Fuck the Bowery Bar.
A little later on, I do remember accompanying some work colleagues there, a couple of times, but still never really embracing it the way I’d done with other spots. You were much likelier to find me at Swift’s just up the street.
In time, Bowery Bar truncated its moniker to B Bar, for some reason. Trends came and went. Fortunes rose and fell. Everyone got older. Eventually, B Bar became just another bar/restaurant, albeit one with the cache of a hip past. My reasons for avoiding the place had long since lost their resonance, and I was happy to partake of its fare on several occasions. The last time I went, I had brunch with my daughter, one bright morning in the Spring of 2019. I remember ordering an eggs benedict and quite enjoying it.
As with many other venues, 2020 dropped the hammer on BBar, and it closed up shop for good at some point this summer. My friend EV Grieve just reported that it’s now slated to be demolished to make the way for – God knows what, at this stage of the proceedings.
While I was late to the table in my appreciation of the place, I am now genuinely sorry to see it go, and dread what towering, sun-blocking monstrosity will shortly replace it.
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