BlackTail at Pier A closing on Saturday

The BlackTail — the bar at Pier A run by the team behind the Dead Rabbit — will close after the last call on Saturday, Jan. 11. This is a blow to downtown and to the pier, which has struggled for decades (and for many of those years it was essentially abandoned) to become a viable and lively part of the downtown scene. It’s an amazing spot — I can’t really put my finger on why it can’t gel. (I love the mezzanine deck off the western side.) Maybe it feels too much like a tourist spot? The BlackTail itself seemed to do so much right (see the comments on Instagram; it regularly made best bars lists with city media and beyond); it has to be the location taking one bar after another down at Pier A. I will note it is a 8-minute Citibike ride from Chambers Street, with parking right there…

Here’s the text from Instagram:
ANNOUNCEMENT: ‪On January 11, BlackTail in New York City will serve its last cocktail. We thank our guests, our devoted team and our colleagues in the bar world, who have demonstrated their enormous support for BlackTail over the years. We have much to be proud of and enough fond memories and stories to fill a book.‬ ‪Operating a bar, especially in a challenging location, proved to be a stretch economically, despite our best intentions and our deep love of the bar. We are still 100% behind BlackTail’s concept of channeling an American bar in Cuba and look forward to reopening the bar in a new location, whether in New York City or elsewhere.‬ ‪In the meantime, we are devoting our full attention to The Dead Rabbit’s expansion to New Orleans, which is scheduled to open in October. If you’re in the Big Easy this fall, we invite you to swing by the historic French Quarter for the same Taproom experience you’ve come to enjoy in the Big Apple. ‬ ‪We are also considering rolling out The Dead Rabbit to other cities over the next few years, including Boston, Nashville and Washington, DC, and perhaps even going overseas to Dublin, Ireland. ‬ ‪Rest assured that our relentless commitment to excellence and exceptional hospitality will continue to be the bedrock of all of our bars, now and forever.‬ ‪Stay tuned…‬

 

View this post on Instagram

 

ANNOUNCEMENT: ‪On January 11, BlackTail in New York City will serve its last cocktail. We thank our guests, our devoted team and our colleagues in the bar world, who have demonstrated their enormous support for BlackTail over the years. We have much to be proud of and enough fond memories and stories to fill a book.‬ ‪Operating a bar, especially in a challenging location, proved to be a stretch economically, despite our best intentions and our deep love of the bar. We are still 100% behind BlackTail’s concept of channeling an American bar in Cuba and look forward to reopening the bar in a new location, whether in New York City or elsewhere.‬ ‪In the meantime, we are devoting our full attention to The Dead Rabbit’s expansion to New Orleans, which is scheduled to open in October. If you’re in the Big Easy this fall, we invite you to swing by the historic French Quarter for the same Taproom experience you’ve come to enjoy in the Big Apple. ‬ ‪We are also considering rolling out The Dead Rabbit to other cities over the next few years, including Boston, Nashville and Washington, DC, and perhaps even going overseas to Dublin, Ireland. ‬ ‪Rest assured that our relentless commitment to excellence and exceptional hospitality will continue to be the bedrock of all of our bars, now and forever.‬ ‪Stay tuned…‬

A post shared by BlackTail NYC (@blacktailnyc) on

 

3 Comments

  1. This place had a nice little run. Its beautifully designed & decor’d, delicious drinks, everyone has a good time there. However, at the end of the day, it still was an gimmick place. Upscale, yes, but still gimmicky. I would imagine its tough to get a lot of business all the way down on Pier A, especially in the colder months (aka 2/3 of the year).

    The food was good too, but how often does anyone “crave” upscale Cuban-inspired tapas?

    There are a lot of these $16-20 “fancy” cocktail places popping up left and right…but not enough people to give business to them all on a frequent basis.

  2. Another restaurant closed because NYS Department of Labor aggressions against small businesses. Thank you Governor Cuomo for your moronic administration

  3. I live nearby but never went, even though I heard/saw all the accolades. Why not? I think I was put off by the constant throng of tourists around the building. Not to mention the constant, unsettling presence of hawkers of Liberty Island and Ellis Island tours. So many other great spots in the neighborhood, and the number of them is growing.

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