One of the best bars in New York City is about to get even better. The renowned FiDi watering hole, Dead Rabbit, just signed a lease that will allow the bar to nearly double in size.
That’s right. The cozy, three-story Irish pub just leased the two-floor space, formerly occupied by a sandwich shop, next door its current location at 30 Water Street.
The Dead Rabbit plans to combine the two spaces, expanding its venue to a whopping 5,500 square feet.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the bar’s co-founders, Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon, revealed that the term for the new lease is 17 years. The Dead Rabbit co-founders expect to launch the newly expanded bar this April. McGarry and Muldoon estimate that the cost of the design and construction for the expansion to run somewhere around $750,000, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Don’t worry. You won’t need to find a new happy hour spot during the expansion process, either. The Dead Rabbit will continue to operate in its current space while the construction project goes on next door.
Since opening its doors in 2013, the Irish-themed bar, inspired by the Irish-American gang leader, John Morrissey, has become increasingly popular. In just a few short years, Dead Rabbit has conquered the cocktail scene, winning various awards and even topping the list of the world’s best bar in 2016.
As a result of the Dead Rabbit’s success, both locals and tourists have been flocking to this lower Manhattan drinking den and the small bar can sometimes have wait times of up to two hours on busy nights. The expansion is great news for patrons who want to grab a drink inside the critically acclaimed bar without having to wait outside.
The Dead Rabbit’s co-founders previously declined offers to expand the bar by opening outpost locations in other parts of the city, since the bar was inspired by the history of The Dead Rabbits street gang that once occupied the area of lower Manhattan.
Therefore, the co-founders simply waited until an opportunity arose for them to expand their wildly successful bar into a space adjacent to its current location. Muldoon told WSJ, “We thought it would happen if we were patient enough.”
Surely enough, they were right.