Apothéke’s Albert Trummer is still waiting for his trial by fire to blow over before he opens Theater Bar, but a private party last night afforded us the opportunity to see his “magic bartender” Jeff Grow at work. Grow (whose handiwork you’ve seen in Hewlett-Packard and Progressive Commercials) did some levitation tricks with a cigarette (shh, don’t tell the FDNY), made a lemon appear underneath a cup, and then made a dollar appear in the lemon. And he says he’ll make bottles appear for bottle service, too! But perhaps the most dazzling thing about Theater Bar isn’t behind the bar, it’s underneath it.
If you go down a side stairwell, punch in the four-digit access code to the first door you encounter, walk down a long, almost Shining-esque hallway of walk-in freezers, pass through the kitchen, and then head upstairs, you’ll get to the “backstage” VIP area behind the bar! It’s all rather magical, because the poor schmucks clamoring for drinks in front of the bar have no idea how you got there. And if you and your friends want to pull a vanishing act, Trummer says he plans to use the walk-in freezers as private rooms. So when will he pull an opening date out of his sleeve? That remains to be seen, but Trummer and Co. are aiming for next month.
