Minetta Tavern, named after the

Minetta Brook Minetta Creek was one of the largest natural watercourses in Manhattan, New York City, United States. Minetta Creek was fed from two tributaries, one originating at Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, and the other originating at Sixth Avenue and 16th ...

is a restaurant owned by

Keith McNally Keith McNally (born 1951) is a British-born New York City restaurateur, the owner of several establishments including Parisian brasserie Balthazar, and formerly Nell's nightclub. Personal life McNally was born into a working-class family in ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. In 2009,

Frank Bruni Frank Anthony Bruni (born October 31, 1964) is an American journalist and long-time writer for ''The New York Times''. In June 2011, he was named an op-ed columnist for the newspaper. His columns appear twice weekly and he also writes a weekly ne ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the Tavern three stars. It served as a hangout for writers like

e.e. cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

and

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

. McNally reopened the Tavern in 2009 as a “high-end revamp of a storied, nearly 100-year-old (space).”

History

The Minetta Tavern originally opened in 1937. It was also a speakeasy hosted the aforementioned writers but also Joe Gould. It has been said he even received his mail at the pub. McNally took over the restaurant in 2008 when it was owned by former busboy Taka Becovic and swerved family style Italian food. The first owner was Eddie “Minetta” Sieveri. After Sieveri sold the Tavern to Becovic, he would return every year for his birthday dinner until his death. Becovic sold the restaurant insisted on raising the rent to a rate Becovic could not afford. Sieveri's son offered to buy it, but even he had to back off. Becovic didn't disclose what the landlord wanted in rent but it was speculated to be a minimum of $50,000/month. The plan was for the restaurant to close in early May 2008 and for McNally to reopen in October and change the menu to French Bistro.

References

Greenwich Village Restaurants in Manhattan Speakeasies Steakhouses in New York City {{US-restaurant-stub