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J. Crew To Open A Shop In Former Tribeca Bar
A J.Crew menswear store, the chain’s first men’s-only shop in Manhattan, is expected to open this summer in the long-vacant space at the corner of West Broadway and White Street. For years a popular watering hole for local residents and workers, the Liquor Store Bar also generated numerous complaints about late-night noise from nearby neighbors that were the focus of battles over liquor licenses and outdoor seating permits. Plans for the store were first reported on the Web site of DNR, a men’s fashion trade publication. It quoted J.Crew CEO Millard Drexler as saying the store would be on a “very short-term lease” with little risk, giving the company a chance to “fool around and play with a men’s store. It’s going to be small.” A J.Crew spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Eileen Hecht, who owns the landmarked 1807 building and lives upstairs with her husband, declined to comment on her new tenant or her efforts to find a tenant that would not face local opposition. But in Nov. 2006 she told the Trib that “99.9 percent” of the inquiries she received about the space were for restaurants and bars. “Everyone who walks by sees a bar,” she said at that time. “They say, ‘I’m calling about the bar, I’m calling about the restaurant.’” Following the sale of the Liquor Store Bar in 2005, the new owner failed to win Community Board 1 and State Liquor Authority approval for a new license. In August, 2006, he abandoned the space following a $250,000 renovation and expansion of the establishment that includes a gleaming new bar. Nearby residents later opposed a beer and wine license in the space for a second Grey Dog, a popular coffee shop in Greenwich Village. Community Board 1 voted its support for Grey Dog’s application, but the deal later fell through for other reasons. Janna and Peter Townsend, who live across the street at 1 White Street, were vocal opponents of the Liquor Store Bar when its owners would come before the community board for license renewals and, later, when other license applicants sought the board’s approval. Told by a Trib reporter of J.Crew’s plans for the space, Janna Townsend said her opposition had always been based on a desire for more mixed use in the neighborhood. “This is more of a win-win than a victory,” Townsend said. “I’m glad that she [Hecht] found a tenant and that we have peace and quiet.”
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