Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Goodbye P&G

Located on Amsterdam near 75th on the Upper West Side, P&G Cafe is quintessential old New York. But it's going down soon, reports the New York Times, moving a few blocks away with none of its 1940s charm intact.  "The future P&G is three times as large as the old 860-square-foot bar. A rusticated structural wall will be an ornament, instead of the kitschy Austrian castle and forest fantasy mural signed in 1943 by a rye-drinking artist who executed the scene to pay his bar tab. “'I’ll feel out the new place,' said Patrick Duffy, a stagehand who has been a regular for more than a decade. 'But we don’t know if the new place is for us--we’re old school.' Thanks to Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.
Beautiful bar tab mural...
Barkeep, I'll have a Dewars...straight...

The mural extends well above the barroom floor...
But soon the P&G will be no more....

21 comments:

Tanya Breese said...

Oh man, why are they moving it? I suppose it will get a new following but I can't imagine the "old school" crowd being to happy. I love it the way it is. Why don't business owners understand this, newer isn't always better!

Uma por Dia said...

So great! I'm getting more attention to signs since you commented on mine. I haven't took many photos latelly but i'm sure I'll do signs from now on too.

Happy new year and thanks for the inspiration!

Virginia said...

KM,
Go to the P&G and order me a bourbon and club soda and sip it with the old school boys for me , OK??? You're a good NYC boy, you know. I hope you are saving all these wonderul photos and your musings.
V

Anonymous said...

Soon even the oldest cities in America will no longer have their original feel. There will be no places left for the old folks to take their grandchildren, point at a building and say, "I remember when.....". Truly sad.

Fredrik said...

Not a strategic move I think. You can't create the same feel in a new place. They will definitely lose customers.
Happy New Year!

Hilda said...

I hope whoever moves into this old place keeps the mural.

Happy New Year, Ken Mac! Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous 2009.

Unknown said...

It's such a shame charismatic places are systematically thorn down!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Unknown said...

I meant 'torn' down, sorry...

Brooks of Sheffield said...

Ken Mac, are you going to the P&G tonight? It would be great to have some shots of the closing night.

Brooks of Sheffield said...

Never mind, Ken. I found out that P&G is staying open until Jan. 31.

Daryl said...

too bad, I am sure an overpriced chichi celebrity chef restaurant will open .. just as they did a block below and above .. tho the Jacques Torres shop is a nice addition to the hood.

PJ said...

Oh, it always hurts to lose an old friend! I hope the new one has a good vibe to it, maybe the more you go the faster it will age!

• Eliane • said...

So you're in my hood again and you don't even invite me for a glass of coca-cola? What will they do with the neon signs? Should I swing by in the middle of the night and unscrew them, discretely? I can see the "café steak chop bar" piece in my apartment, it would be perfect.
Yesterday, the place was already empty. I hope it will become a Starbucks... or a bank... or a Mac Donald... I kid of course.

Anonymous said...

The bar opened during the Roosevelt administration and has been family-run for four generations. Steve Chahalis isn't relocating by choice. The landlord is forcing him out.

Bernice and Dan said...

This was a great way to test our knowledge of what's on which street! Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

I was told they want to turn it into a bank by the current owner. I believe a Sovereign Bank.

I don't think we have enough banks in the city.

Sandy said...

We were fortunate to meet the owner of the P & G Bar on a flight to NYC the summer of 07. It sounded like our kind of bar so we stopped by that evening. When we told the bartender that we were from Montana he asked why we didn't tell him sooner. He said that Betty (?) had told him to buy her "Montana friends" a drink when we came in. We loved the friendliness of the bartender, family members and the wonderful atmosphere of the place. It was one of the high points in our trip. We're sorry the owners lost their battle with the landlord. It's definitely NYC's loss. We wish them well in their new location and will stop by next time we are in NYC.

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