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.
Unsafe is a condition we want to help change.
