Barrette is CLOSING?!?!

Say it ain't so!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last day of business is June 27th according to a tip I received from a friend.

Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess between Weather Up, Cornelius, Washington Commons and Manhattans opening up since they started, the competition is too steep. It's too bad- I like that place and like that their kitchen is open late.

Wow, I thought they had a strong following? One of the owners is a member here
I wear barretts? or I love barretts? can't remember her screen name

Where is Washington Commons???? I can never find it when I walk by....

Anyway I hear they are opening up a second Pequena in the Barrette space. I love Pequena but I really really loved Barrette. Sigh.

Tell me about Pequena. I've never been there.

Its on the corner of Park and Washington. It's nice.

Oh it's delicious Mexican! Across the street from Habana Outpost. Even though I like Habana's outdoor area, I find Pequena's food far superior.

Hmmm. I used to live there but yet I can't seem to find it! Is it where that sketchy old illegal strip club used ot be?

Here's a visual from Brownstoner

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/04/streetlevel_was.php

across washington from the sketchy old strip club.

this is incredibly sad.

....sweet tea, by "old" do you mean old like it's been around a while or old like it used to be there but isn't?

sad news indeed. i heard a mexican restaurant was going to go into that space. the 4 corners of bars will now be a dream deferred.

This truly sucks. What- was business that bad? It always had people in it...whats the deal- anyone know?

Holy fucking christ on a motorcycle. If Pequena is indeed going to take over the barrete spot I will do cart wheels down vanderbilt ave.

the location in fortgreen has some of the best mexican food ive ever had.

Barrete is a cool spot though.

Whatchuwant wrote: This truly sucks. What- was business that bad? It always had people in it...whats the deal- anyone know?

Seriously. I don't have any behind the scenes information. However, in general, if a place is always crowded and still fails, either their pricing structure is totally wrong, or money is leaving through another route (theft, gambling, front operation, etc.).

Too many buy backs?

Pequena could be counted as a default bar, I suppose. Either way, it'll do very well, especially with outdoor seating. Vanderbilt has really come into it's own. At this stage, I could have one drink in each establishment and not be able to find my way home. Now that's progress!

Carnivore wrote: [quote=Whatchuwant]This truly sucks. What- was business that bad? It always had people in it...whats the deal- anyone know?

Seriously. I don't have any behind the scenes information. However, in general, if a place is always crowded and still fails, either their pricing structure is totally wrong, or money is leaving through another route (theft, gambling, front operation, etc.). I'm wondering the same thing. WTF? The place always seemed crowded to me.

the bar before it also had an abrupt closing. maybe it's just one of those spots that makes business go bad........

What bar was there before Barrette? I thought it had been vacant.

My inside source tells me it is, indeed, closing and reopening as a Mexican resto.

Jack Krohn wrote: What bar was there before Barrette? I thought it had been vacant.

It was, and for years before that, it was a church.

????
this sucks. i feel guilty because i've been drinking at the new places on washington lately for the novelty of it. it's always been my favorite bar here.

Subject: Tragedy

No more Miller High Life tall boys?

this is Very upsetting.

Something tells me it might be a case of being forced out by the landlord. Based on a drunken conversation with the tender Frank a few weeks ago I know they had some problems with someone in the community about the dancing. He said that's why they cut it back to two nights a week. Maybe that became a bigger issue. The Pequena people already own Moes, Maggie Browns, and Olea so maybe they saw them as a more reliable tenant. Hell I believe they OWN the buildings those places are in so maybe he bought the building outright.

I'm going on Friday and probably again on sunday when they have $1 drafts till the kegs are dead. If I find out anything I'll post about it.

I really really liked Barrette but once they cut back on the dancers the crowd had thinned a little. It definitely had nothing to do with too many buybacks. That was never their strong point, although still better than Soda.

The worst part is it was the only bar along that strip guaranteed to stay open until 4 and that served food late. Hopefully one of the other bars will pick up the late night crowd.

This could be part of the reason for them closing:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/OverviewForComplaintServlet?requestid=2&vlcompdetlkey=0001043959

Someone filed a complaint with the DOB about it being an "adult establishment" too close to a church.

It was a year ago but it could have taken that long to be resolved and/or the drama could have carried over. Maybe the DOB should stop worrying about dancing girls and worry about doing their jobs and inspecting buildings like the one on Myrtle that just collapsed.

I also noticed that their liquor license expires at the end of August. That might have something to do with it too.

Clearly I have too much time on my hands.

some guy on the street told me barrette and pequena are owned by the same people. any truth to this?

clintonhillbilly wrote: Based on a drunken conversation with the tender Frank a few weeks ago I know they had some problems with someone in the community about the dancing.

in small town america this is big a problem

clintonhillbilly wrote: I know they had some problems with someone in the community about the dancing. He said that's why they cut it back to two nights a week. Maybe that became a bigger issue.

So were there exotic dancers? If so, I'm not sure that's the type of bar I want in my neighborhood because those establishments can attract other types of activity, negative activity, that would make me leery if I were a neighbor.

Are we talking about the same Pequena as up in Ft. Greene?

They were burlesque- so not technically 'exotic.'