In July, The Observer reported the impending (or so we were told) opening of Blue Seats, the Lower East Side’s first bonafide sports bar. The 2,000-square-foot bar, named after the famous seats in Madison Square Garden where loyal fans sit, was set to open on July 30 at 157 Ludlow Street.
Its goal, once it opens, is to appease every mold of sports fan—from those who prefer high-definition flat-screen TVs and Philly cheese steaks to those who like blueberry mojitos and raw oysters. (The early shots of the interior reveal a sort of Sex and the City meets Cheers milieu, so the bar might just assuage all comers.)
However, July 30 has come and gone, and Blue Seats’ doors remain closed. The delay quickly became the fodder of various restaurant blogs. A variety of reasons were given for the hold-up from broken televisions to incomplete construction. Eater.com even went so far as to create a delay timeline.
So, to get to the bottom of the situation, we called up Gabrielle Bernstein, Blue Seats’ PR rep.
“The bar just ran into some typical delays that a lot of new venues deal with,” Ms. Bernstein told The Observer. “Right now, they are just waiting for the certificate of occupancy from DOB. They have been waiting for it for two months.”
Ms. Bernstein said that once the Buildings Department gives them the go-ahead, the bar will be open within 24 hours. However, the bar does not know when the Buildings Department is coming by, so they can’t give an accurate opening date just yet.
Nevertheless, Ms. Bernstein believes that all the press is only providing more hype for the bar’s actual opening.
“A lot of the drama surrounding the delays is actually working in their favor,” Ms. Bernstein. “People are going to be excited to get inside once it opens.”
