Loki Lounge Gets a Facelift, High Dive's Explained

The formerly jet-black facade of Loki Lounge, on Fifth Avenue and Second Street, has gotten a cream-colored paint job.

Another neighborhood bar, High Dive, has been getting some work done on its exterior as well, and I mistakenly assumed yesterday that the bright red paint had been stripped away in order to give the bar a natural wood look. I ran into owner Rory Dwyer earlier today, who told me that while the paint had been removed, there's no intention on keeping that as the final look.

"The top of the facade completely rotted off, and the paint was peeling, so we stripped it away, replaced the top, and are going to re-paint it in red, exactly as it was," he said. So that answers that!

All Traces of Lauterbach's "PUB" Being Removed

I was always intrigued by a semi-hidden sign hanging off of a building on Prospect Avenue that simply said, "PUB." When I wrote about it a few months ago, responses flooded in, explaining that the building's ground floor was once home to a bar called Lauterbach's, a solid dive with a jukebox, pool table, and some live music. It was most popular in the 80s and 90s, and when it closed it was replaced by a day care center.

Apparently the space was much larger than it appeared from the street, because it utilized an extension to the building that stretched into the backyard. Well, the PUB sign has been taken down, and here's the view into the pub's former front door yesterday:

High Dive Gets a Facelift

When local bar impresario Rory Dwyer and a couple partners bought the dingy Lighthouse Tavern a couple years ago, they gave the bar, on Fifth near Carroll, a new name and complete makeover, knocking down walls, repainting, and essentially re-doing the entire space. That's why I was always a little surprised that they barely touched the bar's exterior, which had a bright red coat of paint and never really jived with the new interior.

Over the past couple weeks the red paint's been stripped away, leaving natural wood in its place. They kept the door and sign red, though, and I think they did a good job with it.

Facade, Signage Revealed at Uncle Barry's Bar

Of all the planned openings for this Fall, there's none I'm more excited about than Uncle Barry's, the bar slated to open soon in the space that was last occupied by the garish New Style, on Fifth Avenue between St. Marks and Bergen. Constriction is moving along swiftly, as indicated by the new glass facade and signage revealed over the weekend.

While it may claim to be only "A BAR," owners (and Slopers) Josh Ellis and his cousin Jake Treback, have plenty more in store. It's a big space, with a 30-foot long long bar that'll feature a large selection of craft beers, and there's a back room that'll be home to a couple of arcade games, as well as a back yard.

According to the owners, even though there will be a large selection of high-quality beer, they will still have a great happy hour, plenty of inexpensive options, and some snacks like meat, cheese, and beer nuts. Here's a recent photo from Facebook; we'll be checking in again soon.

Car Crashes into Cyprus Avenue Bar

At about 4 PM on Sunday, those passing the time at Cyprus Avenue with a pint of Guinness and some curry chips were rudely disrupted by none other than a drunk driver, who collided with several cars along Bergen Street before crashing into the side windows of Cyprus Avenue, on the corner of Fifth and Bergen.

Ryan, the bartender at next-door restaurant Alchemy, told me that there were no injuries but substantial damage to the side of the popular Irish pub. While it may not be apparent from looking at the above photo, there used to be a gated sidewalk seating section in the area pictured, and it's been completely obliterated.

A peek through the bar's windows reveal that while there's no interior damage, the windows at right have been completely shattered. On most Sunday afternoons the outdoor section usually has at least a few people sitting out there; it's a good thing nobody happened to be there at that time.