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| Ad in the Village Voice, 1969 |
The Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street) will reopen for its 60th year on April 9 after a one-year shutdown. Shuttered at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, the Bitter End was sustained by the resilience of current owner Paul Rizzo and a successful $100,000 crowd-sourcing fundraising campaign. D'Angelico Guitars was among the benefactors, awarding $7,000 to the Bitter End at the end of 2020. Like many venue operators, Rizzo is hoping for additional federal assistance from the long-delayed Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) in order to pay bills and remain open.
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| Ad in the Village Voice, 1969 |
The Bitter End opened in 1961 as a coffeehouse featuring live music. At that time, Greenwich Village was the epicenter of a burgeoning folk music movement. Through the decades, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Billy Joel, Chuck Mangione, George Thorogood, Norah Jones, Lady Gaga and countless others performed at the Bitter End as music industry hopefuls. Although never really labelled a comedy club, Woody Allen, George Carlin, Dick Cavett, Cheech & Chong, Billy Crystal, Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Klein, Freddie Prinze, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin and Flip Wilson were among the many comedians who launched a career at the Bitter End. Dozens of artists have recorded live albums there, including Bill Cosby, Dion, Arlo Guthrie, Donny Hathaway, the Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, Randy Newman, Tom Paxton, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Pete Seeger, among others.
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| Ad in the Village Voice, 1969 |
Current governmental mandates and health concerns are impacting how all nightclubs, including the Bitter End, present shows. Fresh air will be cycled into the room at all times. In order to accommodate social distancing, the Bitter End's capacity has been reduced to only 12 tables, with no standing room by the bar. Customers will have to purchase tickets in pairs and will be seated at tables for two, four or six. Unaffiliated guests will not be seated together. Upon entry. patrons must agree to a temperature check and provide contact tracing information. Patrons must wear a mask whenever they are not seated at their tables. According to New York State guidelines, a food purchase must be made at each table in order to purchase alcoholic beverages, so the Bitter End will open a limited menu to meet this requirement. The venue will be emptied between shows so that staff can sanitize all surfaces.
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| Ad in the Village Voice, 1972 |
The Bitter End's opening weekend will feature performances by JudyAnne Jackson, Jess McAvoy, Fawn, and Stella Blue's Band. In general, performers are responsible for promoting advance ticket sales. Any remaining tables will be released to the public on the Bitter End website. Doors will open a half hour before showtime.
Friday, April 9, 6:30 p.m. JudyAnne Jackson
Friday, April 9, 8:30 p.m. Jess McAvoy
Saturday, April 10, 6:30 p.m. Fawn
Saturday, April 10, 9 p.m., Stella Blue's Band
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| Ad in the Village Voice, 1974 |
This is awesome!
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