Openings

Mars Bar May Be Bowery’s ‘Final Blow,’ But Veselka Opens in March

Photo: Youngna Park

The Wall Street Journal pens another piece about the closings of Max Fish and Mars Bar (the owner of Mars is keeping mum while Max’s owner reiterates what she told us: “The neighborhood has kind of lost its color. I have a feeling that the intention is to make this like the meatpacking district”). Meanwhile, Jeremiah’s Vanishing looks back on seven years of changes on the Bowery and laments, “The East Village has lost so much of itself in recent years, but Mars Bar feels symbolic, as if it contains all of those losses in one final blow.” Oh well, at least Veselka is still around after 54 years! Feast visits the ol’ standby at 2 a.m. and gets late-night hostess Agnes Wtaszczuk to open up about “crazy customers” like the guy who comes in every night and visits tables telling everyone that it’s his birthday the next day. See, there’s still a little bit of that old East Village left!

But wait a minute, let’s not forget that Veselka is also part of the big, bad redevelopment of the Bowery! Owner Tom Birchard tells Feast, in another video, that the boozed-up 24-hour second location, originally expected for this year, will open in the Bowery Avalon complex in the middle of March. Now that’s going to throw the Bowery nostalgia bloggers for a loop.

Beloved Bars Take Dive [WSJ]
The Loss of Mars [Jeremiah’s Vanishing]
Veselka’s Overnight Shifter, Not Yet a Vampire, Could Fill a Book With Late-Night Craziness [Feast]
Veselka Bowery Will Open in March, Ten Blocks From the Original [Feast]

Mars Bar May Be Bowery’s ‘Final Blow,’ But Veselka Opens in