At a New Burger Joint, Organic Wines Meet $10 PBR Pitchers

When Greg Nardello, 55, and his son of the same name, 23 (shown above), opened a new bar at 115 St. Marks Place near Avenue A over Halloween weekend, they hadn’t yet settled on a name. They’ve since christened it The Burger Shop and erected a sign painted by local street artist Beau. Yesterday they put the finishing touches on the storefront by installing planks of recycled wood acquired from M. Fine Lumber in Brooklyn.

The Nardellos, who live in Bayswater, Queens, built out the bar’s interior themselves, using many such planks – some of them 140 years old. A tabletop in the back corner nook, where prints of vintage pin-ups hang, is actually a repurposed sewer grate that Mr. Nardello, Sr. acquired at a construction site when he was in the business (before going into construction, he owned a bar in Queens).

Yesterday, as costumers shared $10 pitchers of PBR, the father and son team touted a list of all-organic wines (26 by the bottle, a dozen by the glass) and several organic beers. They said they hoped to start serving a variety of burgers next week.

“This is a hot thing now, I guess – burgers,” said Mr. Nardello, Sr. “And there’s nothing around here.” (The owners of Mark and Black Market, each within a couple of blocks of The Burger Shop, would likely disagree. Mini Burger, on the same block, closed within a year.) The menu, which will be served till closing (at least till 2 a.m.) may also include wings, hot dogs, milkshakes, and sweet-potato fries with marshmallow sauce.

After a little over a week in business, Mr. Nardello, Jr. said he was surprised by the popularity of the PBR special. “People who live here have been coming in saying they have a hard time finding a pitcher around here,” he said. “I’ve never heard of that.”