THE Patriot, Chambers Street and Church Street, closed in mid-2022, likely a Covid-19 victim. It was a neighborhood bar cleverly disguised as a dive bar (unlike the nearby Raccoon Lodge which was indeed a dive bar). I was only in once, but it was memorable. I met a couple of cousins here after a Forgotten NY tour in June 2008 in which our group crossed the Manhattan Bridge, delved into Brooklyn Heights for about an hour, and returned over the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s about 6-7 hours of touring, which was my par then; I have reduced that considerably since. Needless to say I was thirsty and in the course of the “after party” I swallowed five drafts and didn’t feel phazed at all. The barmaid was quite friendly, which I appreciate. A third cousin in New Hyde Park was a little piqued when we showed up late.
The Patriot was only in existence for 19 years but it seemed to be one of those places that was there forever, like the Old Town Bar near Union Square. Apparently it was a haunt for well-known celebrity figures and politicians which seems natural because City Hall was nearby.
The Patriot was opened by bar mogul Tom McNeil in 2003 — and I am hoping commenters here can remember what was there before. McNeil had the Village Idiot, which he opened in the East Village in the ’80s and closed in the Meatpacking in 2004, when the rent went from $16 a square foot to $60.
McNeil’s formula (and legacy) was scantily clad bartenders and cheap beer; his former employees went on to open Hogs and Heifers (owned still by former Tribecan Michelle Dell, now in Vegas), Doc Holliday’s and Coyote Ugly. [Tribeca Citizen]
A bit late…but sick transit, Gloria!
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10/25/23
13 comments
When I’m in NYC, my go to spot is always Doc Holliday’s in the East Village. Thanks for giving a little backstory to it and an overall interesting “watering hole” article. Cheers!
Although I don’t go to bars myself, I never got what exactly defines a dive bar, because I feel that is something broad.
It’s sic transit, not “sick”.
I am quite aware.
It’s not surprising that a business closed because of Covid two years after the fact. They might have had a deal with the landlord to pay extra rent each month to cover the back rent that had accrued during Covid, but it proved too burdensome, another possibility is that losing the after-work crowd due to WFH proved too big a revenue loss.
I well remember the Racoon Lodge and The Ear from my early days 45 years ago. Sick transit, indeed!
My office is at 118 Chamber. Couple doors down. I think it was a Popeyes before it became the Patriot? Of all the crazy things.
The owner left a legendary takedown manifesto of city government’s betrayal of small businesses pasted to the door when he closed.
I got into a fight there. Some drunk idiot hit my wife
I never went to the Patriot. But I used to hang at the Raccoon in the 80s, 90s, 2000s. Great juke box pool table fire place bartenders
The Patriot always had a chalkboard outside with a new quote every day. One I remember. It said, “Don’t worry. Drink more. It only gets worse.” They also had a dumb waiter which i think actually worked. Lastly, they did have a bartender guide book which was both interesting, somewhat bizarre, and funny. Quite a place. I have been to the EAR many times over the years well.
Great joint, and it most certainly was a dive bar with cheap lukewarm beer and zooted barmaids. Always a hint of danger. Not many places left downtown for a working man to have a reasonably priced drink.
In the early 2000s I would often visit a friend in this neighborhood, at odd hours, and would see the predecessor to The Patriot, which had some oldfashioned Irish bar name like Blarney Castle. In 2001 or 2002, probably right when they were closing for good, I came by on a Saturday morning, I think, and noticed the door ajar. I went in and the lights were on, but no one in the place. It was like the Marie Celeste. I said “Hello,” no response, and then said it louder a few more times, then left.
Before The Patriot it was L’Oursin, a Provençal seafood spot that opened in April, 2001 (bad timing, obviously). Prior to that it was Blarney Castle in the 1990s. From 1940 to 1955 it was . . . Pearl Paint, before they moved further uptown.