Photos: Suzanne Rozdeba
Local nightlife impresario Ravi DeRossi’s latest venture is a Victorian and Steampunk-themed bar, and it’s set to open at 6 p.m. tonight.
“It’s a fusion of sci-fi, fantasy, and Victorian times,” said Mr. DeRossi, who also owns nearby Death & Co. and The Bourgeois Pig. “We wanted to give it a grittier edge.”
Patrons enter the bar through a door decorated with golden wings; inside the dark space, there’s a ceiling mural by artist David Nordine, who also painted the bar’s exterior. A metal cage stands in the middle of the front room, mosaic murals tile the floors, and clocks, museum replica pieces, and clock parts cover the back room’s walls. Around the bar hang handmade sconces by Steampunk artist Art Donovan. Read more…
Daniel Maurer NicolettaRestaurant-construction voyeurs may have noticed a couple of new developments: the plywood that has long obscured Nicoletta, Michael White’s forthcoming pizzeria on the corner of Second Avenue and East 10th Street, came down yesterday. Today, a banquette was awaiting installation; a representative for the restaurant said it’s aiming to open in the next two weeks, pending Department of Buildings inspections and liquor license approval. “The chef wants to get in and make sure he gets to do some work as well,” said the rep.
Daniel Maurer Gin PalaceAnd over at Gin Palace, the forthcoming cocktail lounge from Ravi DeRossi of Death & Co., Mayahuel, the Bourgeois Pig, and Cienfuegos, antique-style lighting has just been installed over the mural that David Nordine is working on. A worker on the scene told The Local that the Victorian gin joint is aiming to open June 11.
Suzanne Rozdeba Looks like there is still some work to do before the Gin Palace can open.Out with the Iberian, in with the Victorian.
Gin Palace, the Victorian-themed bar replacing El Cobre on East Sixth Street, is opening by the end of April, co-owner Ravi DeRossi, told The Local this morning.
The new bar, which has a fancy mural in the works on the ceiling, will not have the same air of exclusivity as Mr. DeRossi’s other popular establishment, Death and Company.
“The original gin palaces in England in the 1800s were a response to a failing economy, where people would go to get wasted and escape disease and the plague. It’s not as bad right now, but it’s a pretty weak economy,” said Mr. DeRossi, who also owns nearby The Bourgeois Pig. “This will be a spinoff of those old Victorian dive bars, and no pretension. If the space fits you in, you get in.”
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Stephen Rex Brown Board Member Alexandra Militano discussed October’s applications for liquor licenses. Community Board 3 approved Jane’s Sweet Buns application for a beer and wine license last night, paving the way for the bakery to pair alcohol with its desserts.
“Literally 75 percent of our clientele that comes in after 8 p.m. wants to have a glass of wine with their sweet bun or tart,” said Ravi DeRossi, the owner of the business on St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A. “Wine and dessert go so well together.”
The business was met with skepticism by some members of Community Board 3, however.
“I hear we’re all dying to receive this: A bakery that sells booze,” joked board member Joyce Ravitz.
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