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Historic Teddy's Bar In Williamsburg Has Been Sold
By
Nell Casey
Published Feb 23, 2015
Modified Feb 23, 2015
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By
Nell Casey
Published Feb 23, 2015
Modified Feb 23, 2015
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After 28 years slinging pints of Brooklyn Lager to an ever-changing parade of Williamsburg faces, the owners of Teddy's Bar & Grill on Berry Street are handing over the bottle openers to the next generation of barkeeps. Felice and Glen Kirby, along with business partner Lee Ornati, have chosen new owners to keep the 128-year-old establishment running—with very important rules about what can and cannot be changed. "We're happy to see people take over the bar with a commitment to the community," Kirby said over a mug of tea in the bar's cozy, fireplace-heated back room.
It's a feeling strikingly similar to the one Teddy's original owner, Teddy Prusik, had when he sold the business to Kirby and her then-boyfriend. Brought on as a community organizer in 1979, Kirby knew a lot about a changing demographic and the effects of gentrification on a neighborhood. "Building roots was valuable," she explained, which is why the search for new owners included the hope of attracting people who already had ties to the community. "We wanted to work with younger people who value what's good about Teddy's but have their own ideas."
Like Kirby and Ornati's ideas to begin a live music program—which was anchored by legendary Harlem musician Shorty Jackson in its early days—and a food menu, which Kirby cites as the "original gastropub" in Brooklyn. Both aimed to serve a community that, at the time, didn't have much in the way of local watering holes. The trio wanted Teddy's to be "your third room," a place as comfortable as your own home but filled with different characters, sights and sounds.
The new owners will have room to put their own spin on the bar, but certain elements—like the name—won't be going anywhere. As part of their contract, the new owners can't remove certain "historic aspects" from the bar, like the imported, stained glass exterior heralding the site's original use as a brewery in the 1800s and the original flooring. "I hope that they're very popular and successful," Kirby said with genuine enthusiasm. "If you're intransigent and only enjoy the old, you won't enjoy progress. I feel open to what they can do."
A farewell party to this version of Teddy's will be thrown on March 30th; check Teddy's website for more details.
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