Celebrities, Broadway greats and locals alike communed in this tiny speakeasy and it hit hard when it closed. Hidden in tourist central, right on Restaurant Row, Bettibar was the place to get a great cocktail and escape the madness of restaurant row. WHY, BETTIBAR?!?!?! WHYYYYY?!?! This was one of those #IYKYK (if you know you know) places. It’s a long way from catering photo shoots, “but it was right there,” she says. They are designing and building alternative living spaces – modern, sustainable homes made from shipping containers. With slim margins, colossal overheads, and no clear path to recovery, they’ve decided to leave the city and try something new in the Catskills. “We’re in the midst of extraordinary change, obviously,” said Shari Drewett back in July, “but it doesn’t have to be ruinous.” Shari and her wife, chef MK Washko, owned and operated Better Being Catering for a quarter century – until COVID-19 wiped out their business overnight.
I can’t think of any other place in the neighborhood where I could order copious amounts of bacon and not be judged for it. Plus, who doesn’t love bacon? And if you’re thinking of vegans, think again - ‘cause Tabitha Brown became famous during the quarantine by giving advice all the while making carrot bacon! This place was always packed with what appeared to be jovial locals, sipping bacon Bloody Marys while snacking on their clothes line of bacon. Niche restaurants like this usually don’t do it for me, but there was a light-hearted, fun, neighborhood feel to this place. Receiving a very honorable rating of 4.0 on Zagat, the reviewer says: “Classy Korean barbecue is no oxymoron at this Theater District change of pace, where the smokeless tabletop grills and modern setting impress fans maybe the tabs skew upscale, but the food’s exciting, the service caring and the overall experience satisfying.” Anyone else now craving copious amounts of delicious Korean BBQ? Touted as “NYC’s premier Korean Restaurant!” there was something about this place that made me think “I can’t afford to eat here” and now I regret it. Pride Day rocked - all started by afternoon pizza at B-squared.” Arriba Arriba and then on to Flaming Saddles. But then we were suddenly ready for a bar crawl. We were just going to have a snack and go home.
“My friend and I met up for drinks and pizza there at the end of Gay Pride parade day 2019. The good news is that the owners, brothers Joe and Peter Rabasco and Bobby Khorrami, have re-opened The Harrow on 10th Avenue this month after winter hibernation. We reported back in July that Adella had closed after 7 years at their location underneath Manhattan Plaza. My Wish: That all people get to have a Cleo’s in their lives.”
I lament its passing, yet I also gratefully embrace my many indelible, bittersweet memories of the saloon, the community it attracted, and its role in my NYC life. So, every time I now walk past it, my heart whimpers. Hell’s Kitchen sure isn’t what it was back then, nor am I. But now it is gone - and so, too, are the nearly 30 years since I first visited. “Cleo’s - OK, Ninth Avenue Saloon - was the center of my gay NYC life for decades. “Back when the place was called Cleo’s, there was a very long game of Truth or Dare played with members of the cast of Nunsense A-men! where the dares all had to happen on Ninth Avenue.” The bartenders always poured strong, the over-salted popcorn was never ending and there was never a dull conversation or moment! It will forever live on in my memories through the books I have from their infamous community library and the million photobooth photos in my apartment. The “Cheers” of Hell’s Kitchen and a staple for over 30 years! My memories of The Saloon are deep, sometimes drunken, and there are definitely nights I don’t remember.