Dear New York City. Please stop shutting down the places that I like to go to before shows and enjoy a beer with my friends. Alright, so perhaps the city did not actually close this establishment but by the time you are reading this posting the bar known as Nice Guy Eddies will have closed and I am not too happy about it. Eddie’s had become the official pregaming space for me and many of my friends as we headed to shows at Mercury Lounge and even the couple of blocks away Piano’s and Arlene’s Grocery.



This news surprised me and according to those I had asked, it did the same to them as it was apparently very sudden. As I had a concert to attend at Gramercy Theatre this evening, I knew that my only option was to head into the city a little earlier and have a proverbial last meal and pint at Eddie’s as their official closing day would be tomorrow 6/16/12. According to the waitress I had that evening, the bar was being closed after 18 years and would become a Hipster Lounge. Wonderful, because we don’t have enough of those places down here in the Lower East Side.



You might recall my mentioning one of the bars most famous aspects was not even inside the place but instead was outside on the building wall on Houston Street. It’s always impressed me but I am a super duper KISS fan in the first place. Anything that depicts the band in their “Destroyer” setting, just makes me feel that I am going to love the place. This is also a fantastic photo op and I have actually brought a few bands over to this to pose in front.

Here is the interior of the restaurant side of the bar. Sorry that I didn’t get a shot of the bar itself, but there were a bunch of regulars holding court there and I didn’t want to seem all touristy. It was on the early side so that is why you don’t see anyone else here. By the time I had left there were only a couple of tables free. As I sat there I reflected upon the times I had come here with Skeleton Pete, Shukmei of We Roqq PR and her client roster and the guys in the Finnish band Naked. One amusing story is how when here with The Muff of Naked after a rehearsal he suddenly had recalled that he had met me year a couple of years earlier while on holiday. Interesting how it would take that amount of time to reconnect but we did. Small world.

This is the kick ass jukebox that they had in the bar. It was loaded with Classic Rock, and some cool Heavy Metal and Punk. On the few occasions I enjoyed their fare, I was able to rock out from my table or at the bar to the melodies of Joan Jett, The Clash, The Ramones, KISS, The Doors and of course the mighty Black Sabbath. There was more on their to choose from but these were my favorites.

Here is one side of the menu. The other side had the sandwiches and the burgers. That was my dining choice for the final go round I was having here before my show. In hindsight I should have shot both sides but my thinking was not clear as I was trying to absorb the place one final time because I knew there would be no coming back.

I cannot effectively call this my last pint but it was my second to last because their happy hour was two for one beers. That was a sweet deal. This is a pint of Bass ale in case you wondered. It was a super hot day outside and this beer was ice cold.

My medium well cheeseburger (served with Pepperjack cheese) and a side of their fries. It was filling and very good. They made a nice burger here that was for sure. I would have loved to order their wings but I was by myself and didn’t want to overeat.

This was one of the cool looking hanging lamps. They reminded me of the medieval Mace so I snapped a photo of one of them for posterity.

Here is a view out to Houston Street where one could watch the interesting city people as they passed by. This particular vantage point was also awesome if you were going to the Mercury Lounge as it was across the street. You could tell when the line was moving and that you had to get your check and get inside for the show.

Okay, so maybe I will not totally miss the bathroom of the place. It was only a few steps up from what you used to find in CBGB’s. Egad. As you can see there were tons of stickers around the wall.

A slightly different angle of the KISS mural.

The mural was done by famed graffiti artist Chico. His stuff is inspiring and many levels of awesome. This particular KISS one could be thought of as the building tattoo. Here is a little more of the side wall and the branding of Chico Art NYC.

I asked my lovely server Kate to do me a favor and snap a shot of me in front of the KISS Mural. I knew that I would have hated myself for not getting one. Since the place will be under new ownership I cannot imagine that this will be remaining. What a shame that such iconic neighborhood art will go away without incident.

Goodbye Eddie’s. I really enjoyed what you offered the customers and shall miss your confines very much. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a handful of cool memories from the bar and they shall remain stories going forward. I strongly doubt that I will ever find myself in the upscale Hipster Lounge that you will become. Feel free to toss your own memories and hanging tales of the place if you liked what they were all about. Especially Rock and Roll tales since we are the offshoot of a Music Reporting website.