54 Below Needs Money Fast to Remain Open

54 Below has already fallen upon hard times. The Theater District cabaret and bar opened last year below the theater at the old Studio 54 space, seeking to draw a neighborhood crowd and tourists by using some Danny Meyer charm and some big time Broadway producers and talent to bring in big, big profits. Great idea, except the costs of getting the business off the ground were way higher than the partners ever anticipated and the profits have yet to materialize.

Now the owners of 54 Below are looking for $2 million from additional investors to help save the business. The partners claim that they are close to meeting their fundraising goals, saying they only need about $200,000 more. So if you have some extra cash and are looking for somewhere to put it, 54 Below would love to hear from you.
· Hip Cabaret For Patti LuPone Fans Seeks Cash Infusion [Bloomberg]
· 54 Below Coverage [~ENY~]
[Photo: Facebook]

UPDATE: A rep for 54 Below provided Eater with the following statement, "In mid July [the owners of 54 Below] set out to raise the remaining $600K by sending out requests to a small number of colleagues and fans for loans of $25K each. $400K of the $600K arrived in less than a month, by August 12th, the day the Eater writer wrote that 54 Below "has to raise $2 million dollars now to save the club."

The truth is that almost three quarters of the $2 million loan was raised eight months ago and there is 10% remaining - $200,000 - which is expected to be secured shortly after Labor Day.

54 Below is the first supper club on this level not affiliated with a hotel to open in New York in a long time and its operations have required a 14 month learning curve, which doesn't seem inordinately long given the scale of this endeavor."