Sure enough, today, I received the following email from reader Keith this morning.
"Was open earlier this week but last night when I passed by...the inevitable. Don't let them take our only Irish bar! I have a feeling they are not remodeling."
It is more likely that Céol is closed for good.
The building housing the pub and its neighbor at 193 Smith Street have been marketed as a contiguous property by Smith Hanten Real Estate for $13,000,000 for the past few months.
Both buildings are 25 feet wide, which would represent a total of 50 feet of commercial frontage on a high foot traffic street, along a subway line.
Céol has been part of the community for quite a few years and will be missed. It offered a real no-frills neighborhood atmosphere compared to the more pretentious bars that opened on Smith Street in more recent years.
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7 comments:
they had auction there monday afternoon selling the contents.
Too sad.
That's a huge bummer, I spent a lot of time there - picked up the keys to my apartment when I moved to NYC (it might have still been Smithwicks) and met my girlfriend there on NYE years ago. But I'm not surprised. I heard the owners had been trying to sell it for a while. I hope it remains a bar, it is a really great looking bar that has personality that all of the forgettable new stripped brick walled bars don't have. But being just a single story building is a handicap on Smith St these days that unfortunately doesn't trump style. The former owners also owned a bar on Montague that is now a glass tower so I'm not too optimistic.
kogoth usedKatia:
No strong feelings about Ceol as it was never one of my hangouts.
Do you know if Smith Hanten is marketing the Ceol site and the corner bodega or Ceol and the home of Spice? Maybe Spice is not producing the income expected and the owners are looking to sell.
The Ceol/bodega site has probably been a one-story "taxpayer" since the construction of the IND in the 1930s. But it will not be an easy site to build on given the MTA rules. But for $13 million you will need a good size building.
Bored, Smith and Hanten is marketing the building housing SPICE together with the CEOL space.
No word yet on that little deli building.
I'm not sure of all of the city and MTA regulations, but given the work that went into the Robin du Bois building, which was essentially completely rebuilt, and the eventual condos that went up at the southern Carroll St stop, I can imagine the new owners finding their way through red tape if they want to either rebuild, or add stories.
I spoke to the owner, Loretta, on Wednesday. She hopes to reopen with a new place soon but the fact that the building is up for sale is a huge factor in getting out. I will miss this place. I have held many celebrations with friends there over the years and for a long time my wife and I had a burger there almost once a week. The pub quiz trivia contest on Tuesday nights was one of the most entertaining things on Smith Street
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