Fanelli Cafe

Last updated

Fanelli Cafe
IndustryRestaurant / bar
Founded1847 (food and drink establishment)
1922 Fanelli Cafe
Headquarters Manhattan, New York City
Key people
Harry Green
Nicolas Gerdes
Michael G. Fanelli
Hans Noë
Sasha Noë

Fanelli Cafe is a historic New York City restaurant and bar considered the city's second-oldest food-and-drink establishment in the same locale, having operated under various owners at 94 Prince Street since 1847. It served as a gathering place for artists during the transition of Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood from a manufacturing area to an arts community.

Contents

History

Erected in 1847, [1] the retail site at 94 Prince Street, in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City's Manhattan borough, operated as a grocery store from that year to 1863. [2] It then became a saloon for two years before becoming again a grocery for a year, and reverting to a saloon in 1867. Various owners followed, with Harry Green operating it as the Prince Cafe from 1905 to 1922. That year, Michael Fanelli purchased the business and rechristened it Fanelli Cafe. In 1982, his family sold it to Hans Noe, who continued it under that business name. [2] Years later, Noe in turn passed it on to his son, Sasha. [2]

The establishment operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933. [1] [2]

It did not become a tavern until 1863, but through its grocery roots is considered New York City's second-oldest food-and-drink establishment in the same locale, [1] [2] [3] predated only by the Bridge Cafe (1794). In that respect, according to historian Richard McDermot, the site's continuous operation since 1847 predates those of Pete's Tavern (1851) and McSorley's Old Ale House (1862). [2]

Artists' agora

Along with the restaurants Food, Cafe Rienzi, the O.G. Dining Room and the Spring Street Bar, Fanelli Cafe was among the gathering places for the artist community that settled in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood from the Beat Generation era to the 1980s, between the neighborhood's times as a manufacturing center and an upscale shopping district. "Whatever work went on in the local studios was fueled by conversations that took place, and partnerships that formed, around these communal tables during the day and in neighborhood kitchens, bars and bedrooms after dark." [4]

Artist Chuck Close was a habitué, as were boxing champion Rocky Graziano and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. [5] Close biographer Christopher Finch wrote:

In the late 1960s, Fanelli's daytime patrons were a comfortable mix of artists and the local blue-collar workers who had sustained the place prior to the artists' arrival. ... Until the Spring Street Bar opened in the early seventies, Fanelli's was the only saloon in SoHo proper that stayed open past about 6 p.m., and in the early evening after the blue-collar crowd headed for home, the cafe turned into an artists' bar. Since it was almost next door to Paula Cooper's gallery, it was also a place to hang out before and after readings or performances, though this was subject to [owner] Mike's unpredictable whims regarding closing time. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoHo, Manhattan</span> Neighborhood in Manhattan, New York

SoHo, sometimes written Soho, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store outlets. The area's history is an archetypal example of inner-city regeneration and gentrification, encompassing socioeconomic, cultural, political, and architectural developments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolita</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta and deriving from "North of Little Italy", is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Nolita is situated in Lower Manhattan, bounded on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south roughly by Broome Street, and on the west by Lafayette Street. It lies east of SoHo, south of NoHo, west of the Lower East Side, and north of Little Italy and Chinatown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar (establishment)</span> Establishment serving alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises

A bar, also known as a saloon, a tavern or tippling house, or sometimes as a pub or club, is an establishment retail business that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks. Bars often also sell snack foods, such as crisps or peanuts, for consumption on their premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food from a restaurant menu. The term "bar" refers to the countertop where drinks are prepared and served, and by extension to the overall premises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowery</span> Street and neighborhood in Manhattan, New York

The Bowery is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north. The eponymous neighborhood runs roughly from the Bowery east to Allen Street and First Avenue, and from Canal Street north to Cooper Square/East Fourth Street. The neighborhood roughly overlaps with Little Australia. To the south is Chinatown, to the east are the Lower East Side and the East Village, and to the west are Little Italy and NoHo. It has historically been considered a part of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McSorley's Old Ale House</span> Tavern in New York City

McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City. Opened in the mid-19th century at 15 East 7th Street, in today's East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men Only" pubs, admitting women only after legally being forced to do so in 1970. The aged artwork, newspaper articles covering the walls, sawdust floors, and the Irish waiters and bartenders give McSorley's an atmosphere reminiscent of "Olde New York". No piece of memorabilia has been removed from the walls since 1910, and there are many items of historical paraphernalia in the bar, such as a pair of Houdini's handcuffs, which are connected to the bar rail. There are also wishbones hanging above the bar; supposedly they were hung there by boys going off to World War I, to be removed when they returned, so the wishbones that are left are from those who never returned.

The West End Bar, also known for a time as the "West End Gate", was located on Broadway near 114th Street in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. From its establishment in 1911, the bar served as a common gathering place for Columbia University students, faculty and administration. The bar was also a meeting place for many Beat Generation writers as well as many 1960s student activists when they attended the university.

Fern bar is an American slang term for an upscale or preppy bar or tavern catering to singles, usually decorated with ferns or other greenery, as well as such decor as fake Tiffany lamps. The phrase came into common regional usage in the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom's Restaurant</span> Diner in Manhattan, New York City

Tom's Restaurant is a diner located at 2880 Broadway in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is on the ground floor of Columbia University's Armstrong Hall, home to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Frequented by Columbia students and faculty, it was founded by Tom Glikas in the 1940s and after a sale at some undetermined point has been owned and operated by the Greek-American family of Minas Zoulis, who retained the original name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge Cafe</span> Restaurant in United States, New York

Bridge Cafe was a historic restaurant and bar located at 279 Water Street in the South Street Seaport area of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The site was originally home to "a grocery and wine and porter bottler", opened in 1794, and has been home to a series of drinking and eating establishments. In the nineteenth century, the building was described in city directories variously as a grocery, a porterhouse, or a liquor establishment. Henry Williams operated a brothel there from 1847 to 1860 and the prostitutes were listed in the New York City census of 1855. In 1888, the building's exterior was altered to its present form. The building was damaged during Hurricane Sandy, and the restaurant remains closed as of 2020. Until its closure, it was the city's oldest continuous business establishment, though the name and ownership had changed numerous times. It had most recently been under the same ownership since 1979, when the former McCormick’s, a bar frequented by local fishmongers, was purchased by Jack Weprin and converted into The Bridge Cafe, a white tablecloth establishment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old City, Knoxville</span> United States historic place

The Old City is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located at the northeast corner of the city's downtown area. Originally part of a raucous and vice-ridden section of town known as "The Bowery," the Old City has since been revitalized through extensive redevelopment efforts carried out during the 1980s through the present. Currently, the Old City is an offbeat urban neighborhood, home to several unique restaurants, bars, clubs, and shops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete's Tavern</span> Restaurant in New York, United States

Pete's Tavern, located at 129 East 18th Street on the corner of Irving Place in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, is a pub food restaurant and the oldest continuously operating restaurant and bar in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Street (Manhattan)</span> Street in Manhattan, New York

Spring Street is a street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, which runs west–east through the neighborhoods of Hudson Square, SoHo, and Nolita. It runs parallel to and between Dominick, Broome, and Kenmare Streets, and Vandam and Prince Streets. Address numbers ascend as Spring Street travels westward from the Bowery to West Street along the Hudson River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutz Tavern</span> Bar in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Lutz Tavern is a bar in the Woodstock neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was established by the Lutz family in 1947, who maintained ownership until the business was purchased by the Barisich family in 1954. Working-class locals and Reed College students frequent the bar, which is known for popularizing the beer Pabst Blue Ribbon. Lutz closed in 2010 after being run by the Barisich family for 56 years, then re-opened under new ownership and management in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort George Amusement Park</span> Former amusement park in New York City

Fort George Amusement Park was a trolley park and amusement park that operated in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan, New York City, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It occupied an area between 190th and 192nd Streets east of Amsterdam Avenue, within present-day Highbridge Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taverns in North America</span>

Taverns in North America date back to colonial America. Colonial Americans drank a variety of distilled spirits. As the supply of distilled spirits, especially rum, increased, and their price dropped, they became the drink of choice throughout the colonies. In 1770, per capita consumption was 3.7 gallons of distilled spirits per year, rising to 5.2 gallons in 1830 or approximately 1.8 one-ounce shots a day for every adult white man. That total does not include the beer or hard cider, which colonists routinely drank in addition to rum, the most consumed distilled beverage available in British America. Benjamin Franklin printed a "Drinker's Dictionary" in his Pennsylvania Gazette in 1737, listing some 228 slang terms used for drunkenness in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringside Café</span> Restaurant

Ringside Café is a restaurant and bar in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The restaurant is considered the oldest bar or restaurant in Downtown Columbus, having opened in 1897 and operated continuously since then. The restaurant has always been an attraction of politicians, lawyers, reporters, and lobbyists, given its proximity to the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus City Hall, and other government buildings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paumgarten, Nick (January 30, 2012). "The Ring and the Bar". The New Yorker . Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McDermott, Richard. "A History of Fanelli's [sic] Cafe..." NewYorkArtWorld.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  3. Williams, Ellen; Radlauer, Steve (2002). The Historic Shops & Restaurants of New York. Little Bookroom. p.  251. ISBN   978-1892145154.
  4. Pasternak, Anne (2007). Creative Time: The Book: 33 Years of Public Art in New York. Princeton Architectural Press. p.  43. ISBN   978-1568986968.
  5. 1 2 Finch, Christopher (2012). Chuck Close: Life (eBook). Prestel Verlag. ISBN   9783641083410.

40°43′28″N73°59′56″W / 40.724555°N 73.998820°W / 40.724555; -73.998820