Sad news out of Williamsburg that Bruar Falls, sister venue to Cake Shop and one of NYC's key incubators of indie rock, will be closing it's doors on Nov. 1 after 2 1/2 years in business, victim to the high costs of running a bar in a neighborhood where an increasing number of shows happen in lofts/warehouses where patrons can sneak their own drinks in for free. (You can read more about it here.)
I got to know Bruar's owner Nick Bodor fairly well over this past year, having met him at SXSW during a panel on live show booking and continuing the conversation once we were back in NYC. At one point, we even talked about me hosting a FoM Presents series Bruar; it didn't happen, but I still think a lot about what that would have been like.
I reached out to Nick yesterday as soon as I heard the news, and he responded almost immediately:
"yeah it is the right thing to do," he said, "but it's nice to hear how much people liked the place."
This might be the end of Bruar for now, but stay tuned: Nick's plan is to save the name and open up in a new location, time and place TBD. And, there's still a full month of Bruar shows to check out, including a full CMJ lineup in a couple of weeks. I'll see you out there.