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Williamsburg Just Lost One Of Its Chillest Backyard Bars
By
Nell Casey
Published Jan 13, 2016
Modified Jan 13, 2016
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By
Nell Casey
Published Jan 13, 2016
Modified Jan 13, 2016
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The winter season has so far claimed two chill outdoor drinking spots in Williamsburg, first with the death of Nita Nita and now off-the-beaten-track standby Good Co., which is getting an overhaul and rebranding as a Southern concept restaurant. "I'm recreating a fictional town somewhere in the south sometime in the first half of the 20th century," explains owner Josh Mazza, who runs UES establishments The Gilroy and Seamstress. "It's a delta juke joint inside and a Savannah garden party outside." RIP chill backyard games, welcome...dainty Southern finger food?
Good Co. wheezed its last breath Monday night, according to a rep from In Good Company Hospitality, who run Parker & Quinn and Refinery Rooftop and will be partnering with Mazza for the new restaurant. If we're being honest, the neighborhood joint had been slowly devolving into a true dive in recent years—not that there's anything wrong with that.
The bus that held court in the large side yard was removed at some point, taking with it some of the bar's unique appeal, but the outdoor space was still a reliable place to down reasonably-priced shot-and-beer deals and play a round of corn hole. If nothing else, there was almost always a seat, making it a great alternative to the neighborhood's other overcrowded outdoor bars (we're looking at you, Crown Vic).
As for the new concept, dubbed Belle Shoals, we're told Seamstress chef Aaron Lamonica will be designing the food menu and Pam Wiznitzer handling the drinks. We weren't thrilled with a version of fried chicken Lamonica did uptown, where liquid smoke overpowered the meat, but cocktail hounds enjoy Wiznitzer's beverage program uptown, so likely she'll be well-received across the East River.
Does the neighborhood have room for more Southern food? There's already a lot of fried chicken flying around. At least "juke joint" sounds vaguely promising, even if there's going to be classy mixology stuff on the menu. The Belle Shoals teams is aiming to open mid-February.
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belle shoals
good co
RIP
seamstress
the gilroy
williamsburg
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