2009, puhlease.

We were just told by some Chumley's insiders that some idiot put up a blog posting somewhere in the world about Chumley's not opening until 2009.

Way to fuel a completely inaccurate fire. The 2009 permit has been on the building for quite some time, as has the scaffolding...which was way before the chimney collapsed. The permit is for the residential construction above and has nothing to do with Chumley's.

Perhaps Batali is right...Bloggers SHOULD be more responsible....or in this case, at least read the permit.

The Resurrection.

We know, it has been awhile.

We have been off in our own little West Village world, patiently waiting and championing for Chumley's.

We are back to bring you some exciting news....Chumley's will open around September/October. In other words....just in time for you to cozy up in a booth and thank God that Chumley's is back over a pint and a muffin burger.

The countdown has begun.

bacon + eggs

while we were busy working with our block association, having conversations with the 80 Bedford Block Residents who have taken up camp outside of Chumley's in lawn chairs telling tales of yester year, and continuing to campaign to bring back your Chumley's as quickly as humanly possible (with all due respect, we are sick of the burgers elsewhere!) a lot has been going on in the NYC world of the West Village....

• Central Kitchen closed (thank GOD, at least temporarily) Overpriced Food that isn't that good doesn't fly on 7th Avenue South, where cheap Mexican reigns supreme
• Marc Jacobs started plotting his next (and yes that is his 3rd) store on Bleeker Street
• Birdbath brings in some awesome new chocolate to the 'hood
• Waverly Inn opened its garden
• West Village resident SJP launched a new line Bitten, the only reason why we EVER would travel to the Manhattan Mall (gasp!)
• We found, taim, the best damn falafel in the village (better yet... make that Manhattan...and it is KOSHER!

And Phoebe Damrosch decided to write a tell-all about Per Se. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Village, the only reason why we bring it up is because Per Se is about the farthest place in comparison from Chumley's. Modern, Clean, Sterile, Uber-Expensive, lodged in the TWC which is like the antithesis of any block in the West Village. Yes, it is the polar opposite of our greatest love...yet we still can't help but occasionally go there.

Perhaps it is because at the core, as Damrosch writes on her blog, everything is bacon and eggs.

"After I left Per Se, a former colleague passed along a story that the chef told the staff. If you want to understand commitment, he explained, all you have to do is look at the American breakfast of bacon and eggs. The chicken was involved, but the pig was committed. "

Thoughts?

and the Winner is...

For reasons beyond our knowing this tops the charts, at 3 sold, as the #1 seller! Trend followers jump on this band wagon and celebrity readers (we know at least 1 of our 5 readers are famous) wear this to your next head shaving event. Oh and P.S. in regards to the comment on wholesale, the site we are using does not offer this to our knowledge.

skipping lunch

• Almost Bikini Season--Check.
• Helping out without a lot of effort---Check.
• Adding points on the good karma side --Check.
• Balancing out your rediculous hundreds of dollars of tenjune, the box, and socialista bar tabs --Check.
• All for less than 1/4 a shirt at Intermix --Check.
  

Since you can't lunch @ chumley's, there is yet another reason to participate in City Harvest's Skip Lunch event on May 16.

$5 can help feed 2 children for a week
$10 helps feed a child for a month
$25 takes care of the summer

For more information click here

The $$ stays LOCAL and it truly is a great cause!

The people 4 saving chumley's will be participating.

We expect you shall do the same?

New York Times' Article on Chumley's

Wow...what a weekend. The New York Times writes up a nice little article about where all the Chumley's customers have gone in wake of the closure.

What they fail to mention is that hopefully they are coming here..lurking in the background waiting for their moment to proclaim their love for Chumley's.

Come on...you know you want to.

The NYT lists McSorley's and White Horse Tavern as possible Chumley's client hangouts. While we continue our quest to bring Chumley's back we'd be interested in knowing where you lurkers are hanging out.

There are favorites in the West Village---never comparable---but nonetheless there are other places where we hope you are grabbing a beer and talking (like we are) about the Chumley's days. Where are those places for you?

As to Mr. Greg Garcia---we really do not appreciate the New Jersey reference.

kindling the campfire

another reader has spoken:
Anonymous said...
Don't really know if I have a SPECIFIC memory ,per se. I guess there are so many. I've lived in the W.V. since I graduated from NYU in 98 and I've loved every minute of that neighborhood.The Bedford/Grove/Barrow block is in my opinion the best in NYC. I've had so many great first dates, last dates, beers with college buddies, meeting old friends--new friends at Chumley's that no single one is the best. They are all special in their own way. It was a special place. Regardless of what happens, it will ALWAYS be a special place. I am looking forward to many more beers and burgers as soon as it reopens.Kudos for starting this site. I look forward to many more memories being shared. Who's next?

kumbaya my team, kumbaya

our first stroll down memory lane...

a reader posted:
Anonymous said...
My fav memory of Chumley's has to be the first time I found it. It was raining and we were trying to go to--gasp--Caliente Cab. Some nice person outside happened to tell us how horrific the food is and suggested Chumley's instead! What a treat! I wish I knew who that person was because I would send them flowers and a gift certificate to Chumley's, as it has been my boyfriend and my weekly favorite since then.And to think...we almost missed it for Caliente?!!! I can't wait for it to return. Keep us posted if there are any neighborhood events, fundraisers, etc. We don't live in the neighborhood (unfortunately) but we would still love to do what we can. --Anna S.

Keep it up fellow chumley-lovers

dia numero uno in don't 86 #86 merchandise mania...

So far at 7:03 p.m. EST 5 of you have stepped up to the plate and put your buck behind supporting Chumley's by visiting our online store. Ok, so not quite mania...

We don't know who you are, but we want you to know that we really appreciate you picking up some of this super cool gear and most importantly, we thank you for your support of our initiative to do what we can for the nation's best Speakeasy (and best hamburger on an English muffin).

So far the #s are as follows:

• 129 visits to the store
• 5 purchases
• $44.00 total raised
  

That is a start.

Above you see featured some hot 'don't 86 #86 gear' for those of you too lazy to check out the store, perhaps they might entice you to make the leap?

group therapy is now in session

Instead of sulking at home about not being able to get our semi-cold favorites, Wing and a Prayer Wheat and Iron Heart Stout, we decided maybe it would help to sit around the crumbled fireplace and tell stories. So please post your favorite Chumley's memory or any photo you might have of being there. Kumbaya fellow villagers.

the current state of Chumley's...

Unsafe is a condition we want to help change.
Closed is a status we hope will soon end.
According to current reports, it will be MONTHS at a minimum that Chumley's will be closed.

There are employees who didn't expect to lose their jobs. There are {annoying} tourists who want to come and check out this amazing piece of history. There are future writers that just want a table, a pint, and a tiny piece of inspiration. And there are all of us, who just want our neighborhood bar back.

Let's do what we can. There have to be many ways we can reach out and help the families, employees, and community that is Chumley's. We are looking for ideas and inspiration from you. We know we could be doing more, so what are we waiting for?

Saving Chumley's...one t-shirt at a time...

We are happy to announce the launch of our Don't 86 #86 store! Here you will find SUPER HOT tshirts, buttons and some random flare (bib, anyone?).

Please check it out and pick up a piece of Save Chumley's gear. You can visit it by clicking here.


Note: Unfortunately at this point, not all of the $$ go to Chumley's because the site hosting the gear takes a percentage. If anyone has a better idea/source on how we can increase the percentage please do let us know.

We are not flare creators by trade so this is the best that we've come up with so far.

Thanks for supporting Chumley's! We don't want our lovely 86 to be 86'd!

Saving Chumley's

As concerned residents of the West Village we are starting Save Chumley's as a way for us to hopefully help save the fate of one of our favorite West Village eateries.

We want to start (for the sake of transparency) by saying that we do not know the owners of Chumley's nor are we affiliated with the restaurant at all other than that we frequent it and we love it.

It is out of love only that we are beginning this outreach to do what little that we can to help save one of the most historic speakeasys in the country.

Chumley's is currently closed due to the partial collapse of it's chimney. Although it is going to re-open, the process of taking down the chimney in a brick by brick fashion is estimated to take several months at minimum. This is obviously extremely financially taxing to the owners and extremely sad for all of the loyal patrons {and those annoying walking tour groups who trapse through our neighborhood daily with their drove of tourists}.

We are confident that Chumley's will return with a bang, but while we eagerly await it's return we want to do what we can to rally support, show the owners and the community how important this historic gem is, and provide them with what financial help we can.

If we can help make it open sooner, provide relief for all of the employees who found themselves without work, or allow the Chumley's family to know how much their neighbors love them, we will have done our job.

So our Chumley's love fest officially has begun. Until the day it re-opens, we will be working to provide up-to-date news, allow people to share their Chumley's stories, chronicle other people's efforts to help the awesome restaurant, and we will be creating a series of Save Chumley's products that we are selling to raise money for Chumley's and have the message of the mad love that we all have for Chumley's displayed through our Save Chumley's merchandise.

We want them to know how much we appreciate their historic contribution to our loves, and if you feel the same way we hope you will join us on our journey!

If not? Oh well...at least we tried =)


About Chumley's:

Marked only by a door with the number 86, Chumley's is known worldwide for being one of the last 1920's speakeasies in West Village.

Chumley's is home to good beer, an amazing burger, a mean shepherd's pie, and decades of history that is chronicled on their book cover lined walls and visable in their cozy cottage cavern interior.

Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Eliot, Miller, O'Neill....they all wrote here. In fact, there are hundreds of photos and book jackets framing all of the walls, letting you know how inspirational the wooden bench you are sitting on truly is.

As is obvious by the recent chain of events, much of the interior and structure hasn't changed much since the days of the police raids that occured regularly at Chumley's during prohibition.

A true gem, Chumley's is as great of a date restaurant as it is a gathering place for the NYU crowd who frequents it for a beer and a burger. The atmosphere is so rich with history, you feel transported to a time of appreciation for the simple things: a good beer, a great place, and an even better chance at an amazing conversation.