Tommy McNeill Swoops in to old Red Rock West space
Tommy with Megan at The Patriot. Could Tommy McNeill have us drinking again at 457 West 17th Street, the former home of Red Rock West? Our “reliable sources” tell us that Tommy, the fleshy proprietor of The Patriot and The Duck, is about to take over the old Red Rock, which closed amid lawsuits, acrimony and much bad karma in May 2008 after a 13-year run.
This is good news for dive bar fans, as it comes on the heels of word that Tommy is busy with carpenters and electricians to ready his third bar—so far unnamed—on East 92nd and Second Avenue (which coincidently, also held the defunct Red Rock Roadhouse, which shuttered two years ago).
Tommy has been the pied piper of dive bars in Manhattan for 20 years. Without him, there would be none of the early 1990s dives that exist today: Coyote Ugly (he gave founder Liliana Lovell her start in the bar game), Hogs ‘n’ Heifers (he was the brains of the original operation) nor Doc Holliday’s (Tommy was an original investor and co-owner, and came up with the name). When he closed the original Village Idiot on First Avenue and 9th Street in 1994, and moved across town to 14th and Tenth, we rejoiced. That place closed in 2004 and his Upper West Side operation, Yogi’s, closed in October 2008. He has been running The Patriot (Chambers and Church) for five years and The Duck (West 112th and Second Ave) for less than six months. With Tommy, it is cheap beer and Johnny Cash tunes at all times. He has done more for the bottom line of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniels in New York than any other person.
Could he pull this off in the shadow of the High Line? Of course. We saw him mobilize the bartenders from The Patriot and Yogi’s and move into The Duck in a matter of hours. He has been hiring new girls like crazy for the past several weeks. As soon as the Upper East Side bar opens—which could be in a matter of weeks—he will have his hands full getting the old Red Rock West in shape to open.
Could we see Dara of The Patriot/The Duck at the old Red Rock? We hope so!What can we expect? When Red Rock West folded, the staff of about a dozen bartenders scattered to the four corners of the city. A couple found spots at Coyote Ugly (where they had to tone down their antics, sad to say). Others moved to the outer boroughs. In the world of Tommy, he will staff the bar with the same girls that work for him at The Patriot and The Duck. Could it open by Memorial Day for Fleet Week? We hope so.
One big change that separates Tommy’s bars from the now-defunct Red Rock is that he never needs hulking bouncers or doormen, who stood around and intimidated the customers. Tommy hires bartenders that run the bars, do the stocking, and handle all the chores at the bar. So we do not think he will even think about re-hiring any of the bouncers or support staff that worked at Red Rock (and this includes the poor soul who had to guard the motorcycles). I can think of only one male face I want to see Tommy bring back: BOB. That dude was the BBQ master, and his hog roasts were legendary. If Bob is grilling, it will be happy days on West 17th Street again.
Tommy is a smart businessman, and savvy where he picks his bars: his new Second Avenue bar is in a prime spot for the Second Avenue Subway when it opens in six years, and even better, when the High Line park opens, his new bar will be in it’s shadow. It looks like 2009 is going to be a great year for dive bar patrons!
Labels: bars, bartenders, chelsea, coyote ugly, dive bars, Doc Holliday’s, news, Patriot Saloon, red rock west, The Duck, Tommy McNeil, upper east side, Yogi’s
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