Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Classic Williamsburg Bar Teddy's Has Reopened With A Cleaned Up Look & New Menus
By
Nell Casey
Published May 19, 2015
Modified May 19, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Michael Letterlough, Jr.
View all 7
By
Nell Casey
Published May 19, 2015
Modified May 19, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
When historic Williamsburg bar Teddy's was sold in February, there were the usual fears that a neighborhood institution would be altered beyond repair, taking its 128-year history and throwing it to the curb. But luckily—and unusually, for the neighborhood—Teddy's most recent owners, Felice and Glen Kirby and business partner Lee Ornati, were determined to pass along their bar baby to a group that would respect the bar and neighborhood's history by keeping Teddy's as grounded as its been since it first opened in 1887. To that end, the trio sold the business to local bar owners and residents Richard DeVore, Scott Davis and Kate Buenaflor, who promised to retain the Teddy's the neighborhood has known for decades.
"Honestly, we wanted to keep everything, there really wasn't anything we wanted to change. Its an historic building, we love the look of it. It's one of the few Victorian-era bars left in New York City," explains DeVore. "All we did to change it was redid the top of the bar, which over the years had warped and shifted and wasn't really structurally sound. We put in a new pub rail on the customer side, which makes it more comfortable to sit and eat. That was it! Otherwise we just cleaned and polished and stained and just tried to bring life back to everything."
Besides minor aesthetic upgrades, the biggest change is a new food menu, executed by Chef Jared, a Bobby Flay vet who the team brought aboard to update the kitchen (much of the rest of the kitchen staff has remained). "We think of it as a typical pub food menu, we just wanted to elevate it a little bit," DeVore says. "Obviously the burgers have always been a big seller at Teddy's, we've just added a large signature burger." That would be the 1887 Burger—a nod to the bar's birth year—consisting of two five ounce patties stuffed with NY State Cheddar, wrapped in four slices of bacon and topped with BBQ grilled onions. It costs $18.87, naturally.
Price-wise, things are more or less unchanged—an extra dollar here or there, perhaps, but Teddy's was never known for dirt cheap drinks. The new owners have substantially increased the draft beer options—Teddy's was the first bar to serve Brooklyn Brewery's beers—including some New York-based options plus standard craft-minded faces like Lagunitas, Oskar Blue's and Bell's Brewery. Draft wines, Teddy's special Bloody Mary "blend" with various liquors and other specialty cocktails complete the refreshed beverage selection.
What do the regulars think of the new and improved Teddys? "It's a tough thing to takeover something that has such a following and history in the neighborhood. But the feedback has been great!" DeVore reveals. "One of the most amazing pieces of feedback we've gotten from people is, 'How did you make it bigger?' Honestly, it was just cleaning up some things. After 28 years of owners, things just kind of built up."
96 Berry Street, (718) 384-9787; website
Tagged
Richard DeVore
teddy's
teddy's 2.0
williamsburg
original
Nell Casey
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .