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A bar backed by a Boston cocktail legend is headed to the basement space at 115 Rivington Street, near Essex Street, on the Lower East Side. The address was most recently home to Nitecap, a now-shuttered late-night hangout from the team behind the popular Death & Co. cocktail bar nearby. Its newest tenant, called Lullaby, is slated to open in early February.
The bar, from Harrison Snow and Jake Hodas, is opened in partnership with Brother Cleve, a Boston cocktail veteran whose unconventional name comes in part from a personality he assumed as a radio host in the New England city. After helping develop the opening menu, he now plans to mix drinks behind the bar at least once a month, and DJ just as often.
Snow and Brother Cleve wanted to pair sophisticated cocktail making with the feel of a neighborhood dive. Their menu of cocktails, most going by names like “the tequila drink” or “the vodka drink,” is accompanied by beer and shot combos ($7) and bottles of Lone Star beer. There’s also an alcoholic version of Dole Whip, the soft-serve dessert sold at Walt Disney theme parks. Everything costs $15 or less.
Lullaby will be open Sunday to Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Bossa Nova ‘closed indefinitely’ following Bushwick fire
A Bushwick fire on Wednesday evening left one resident in serious condition and many others without housing, Bushwick Daily reports. The owners of Bossa Nova Civic Club, a nightclub on the ground floor of 1271 Myrtle Avenue, near Hart Street, discovered the upstairs fire, but not before it had become too large to contain. “The building sustained significant damage and it’s safe to say we will be closed for a notable amount of time,” the venue shared in an Instagram story, according to Bushwick Daily. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise money for the building’s tenants, staff, and bar.
Lodi in the Rockefeller Center opens for dinner and drinks
Lodi, the Rockefeller Center cafe from the team behind downtown Manhattan restaurants Estela and Altro Paradiso, is now open in the evenings with a separate dinner menu from chef Ignacio Mattos. Though the daytime pastries were reason enough to visit on their own, there’s now a full dinner menu — cannelloni, beans in tomato sauce — and a drinks list with classic cocktails, wine, and spritzes. Lodi is open Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Manhattan’s Gaia Italian Cafe could return next month
After shutting down after nearly a decade in 2020, neighborhood favorite Gaia Italian Cafe is close to reopening at its new address. Owner Gaia Bagnasacco, who formerly operated out of a subterranean space in the East Village, signed a lease at 119 Essex Street, near Rivington Street, last summer but it’s been a quiet few months since then. Now Bowery Boogie reports the restaurant could reopen as soon as next month.
