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Protesters Rage Against East Village Wine Bars

Outside of John Varvatos.
Outside of John Varvatos.


On Friday night we tagged along with a few dozen people protesting Bruce Willis’s Bowery Wine Co. as they walked from the John Varvatos store (chanting “Die yuppie scum!”) to Gemma, where one woman snapped photos of sidewalk diners and told them they were going to die of cholesterol. Chants of “Whose fucking neighborhood? Our fucking neighborhood” and signs reading WINE BARS ARE TOO EXPEN$IVE; BAN BELLINI, SAY YUCK TO YUPPIES; and EVICT YUPPIE WINE BARS elicited a mixed bag of reactions — some applauded, and then there was the guy outside of soon-to-open Yem Yem Falafel on 3rd Street and Second Avenue who yelled, “Fuck you.” We were half-expecting the protest to make it up to Ko, but yeah, no chants of “This is what democracy looks like! That is what foie gras with litchi looks like!”

Earlier: Reverends Protest Wine Bar and Union Square Cafe Restaurant

Protesters Rage Against East Village Wine Bars