“Hi, I’m Erik from Tribeca Citizen,” I said, poking my head into The Hideaway, which has been closed since last month’s fire. There was a faint scent of smoke that made the place feel cozy on a wintry day like today.

“Well, get in here!” said bar manager Gael Delahanty. “You and I have been tweeting.”

“Oh, it’s you! When you’re tweeting with a company, you never know who you’re tweeting with.”

“I’m the resident twatter.”

I offered not to quote her on that, but (a) she said it was the kind of comment people who knew her expected, and (b) it was a marvelous example of how funny she was. She was possibly in a good mood because the Hideaway is about to reopen: “We’re hoping for Thursday. If not that, then Friday. But we’ll definitely be open on Saturday.”

There wasn’t that much damage, but insurance-company red tape held things up. The Hideaway used being closed as an opportunity to give itself a thorough cleaning—the beer taps, in fact, were getting their monthly scrubbing when I dropped by. “We’re all workaholics here, and we needed something to do besides sitting around other bars,” said Gael. “A bartender without a bar can get into a lot of trouble!” The closing also gave them time to make a few upgrades. “We have new barstools and new TVs. And it’ll make no difference to you, but our basement looks gorgeous.”

She was proud that the Hideaway didn’t lose a single bartender. “Usually, when you close for a month, bartenders move on—they have to.” Regulars, she said, have also been itchy to get back inside. “People have been contacting me on Twitter, Facebook—they’ve been calling. I’m like, ‘I’m sorry you’re sober, but I’m unemployed, so I’m a little more upset than you are.'”

Whenever it actually reopens, the cocktail menu will include fire-themed options such as Smoke Signals and Burning Down the House. And, just so you get it on your calendar, the popular Blue Crab nights (Sunday and Monday) start up on May 22.