Excelsior Bar Is Back, Relocated, And We Had A Firsthand Look
It feels like business as usual. And it feels comfortable.
Peter Clothier, a long-time regular at Excelsior Bar (now at its new location at 563 5th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets), is watching Jeopardy. “7:00 every night. It’s a ritual here,” he says. When asked about what feels different about Excelsior’s new location he responds, “This TV is much nicer.”
It’s been about a year since Excelsior announced that it would be moving from its previous spot at 390 5th Avenue, between 6th and 7th Streets. The popular neighborhood gay bar had been in that spot since 1999, but moving nine blocks still takes a lot of time and planning.
The new space is roomy, divided up into three main sections on the first floor. The entrance room has an area for stools and cocktail tables that leads into the main bar area.
The back room sits next to an intimate outdoor garden area — which is still a work-in-progress.
Of course, a lot of last-minute touches are happening. When we stopped in, owner Mark Nayden was busy upstairs working with the DJ on the sound system. He’s clearly a hands-on owner, and is now focusing on the details.
When asked how the soft opening has been going, Nayden is rather positive about it.
“August can be a slow month,” he says, “but our numbers for the first week were far better than expected.”
We also wanted to know if he felt that moving nine blocks makes a difference.
“Yes, it does,” he says. “The neighborhood is younger here. We have fewer strollers than there were in our other space. And we have a bit of an ‘entertainment capital’ here with Freddy’s, Commonwealth, and Sidecar. But I miss being across the street from Ginger’s.”
Both Nayden as well as regular Peter Clothier credit Commonwealth Bar for being a welcoming gathering spot where the Excelsior regulars could gather over the last year. “Commonwealth has been ‘Excelsior in exile’,” says Clothier. Nayden speaks of Commonwealth’s owner Ray Gisch — who worked at Excelsior’s original location — as being “a good friend to us.”
Manager Mark Gonzalez spoke with enthusiasm about Saturday and Sunday nights, when they intend to have a series of dancing and drag shows upstairs. He remarked that during the year-long wait, regulars were asking, “Where can we go dancing?”
Excelsior has been in soft-opening mode for now, but things are about to heat up. On Thursday, September 10 at 10pm, the upstairs DJ and dance area — called the Mezzanine Bar — will host its first big party with guests Lavinia Draper with djRDK. The press release tells us Lavinia “might pull audience members up on stage, and she will dance and sing her heart out. Cocktails are highly suggested as she is a tornado of energy taking over the mezzanine floor of our new space.”
Excelsior has been part of the fabric of the neighborhood community for some time. Although it’s a brand new space, it seems they are settling comfortably into their new home.
