Scratch one more of the few affordable old bars left in Times Square.
The Rum House, long embedded inside the Edison Hotel, on W. 47th Street, will close by the end of the years. They lost their lease.
On the bar's Facebook page, bartender Thai said: "I have to regretfully announce that this will be the Last Year for the Rum House.. As of Right Now (some know this could change) The Hotel Edision will be Closing our bar down. Right Now Dec 31, 2010 will be our last day. Jan 1, 2011 the doors will not be opening."
According to a tipster, who says they might actually close in two months, "If you do go inside they've started taking down photos (or people started grabbing them)."
The nautical-themed place is perhaps best known as the home of Karen Brown, a chanteuse who performs most nights on the organ that anchors the east side of the room. She's not exactly magic, but she's beloved. Brown played her last evening on May 22.
This is probably my last hangout in Times Square, aside from Jimmy's - I love this place. It's one of the few truly idiosyncratic spots left in the area. I suppose its closing was inevitable, given the survival-of-the-fittest ethos of the theater district. I'll miss it.
ReplyDeleteI JUST went there for the first time a few weeks ago to celebrate my birthday! Is it my fault? (I also went to Gino's for the first time a few months ago.)
ReplyDeleteI have been coming to the Rum House for almost 20 years when staying in NYC for business and pleasure. I loved the place, the people that worked there, and the atmosphere and energy it brought in from Times Square/ I sat and listened to Karen Brown many a night strike those ivories, as she sang everything from a Gershwin tune , to a Christmas classic to Sinatra and all the classics. Patty was a great waitress, and Jose and Thai were my favorite bartenders in the city....I sang there...danced with my wife there, and being a stand-up comedian ---did my act there as well. God Bless all those who we will miss so much for all the fun times at the Rum Room.
ReplyDeleteVincent McElhone
Old Saybrook, CT
I think Esquire just did a mini write-up on this bar and I was looking forward to visiting it in August. Hopefully it's still there.
ReplyDeleteOMG.
ReplyDeleteI was first (and last!) there on April 29, 1990, for the opening of the short-lived Broadway musical A CHANGE IN THE HEIR at the Edison Theater. (Thank God for Google at times like these!)
Got drunk. Had fun. Remembered the place after just a little over 20 years.
I have to say I will miss it... and countless others.
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I will miss Francisco/Jose and the feeling of a good old New york bar in mid town
ReplyDelete