Bars at Broadhurst Theatre

[spike3]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 3:23pm

The NYC Department of Health has awarded the bars at the Broadhurst Theatre a "C". That grade, other than an absolute fail, is the lowest grade a bar/restaurant can receive. The bars at the Broadhurst had received 14 violation points in June 2011. When the Dept of Health came back in July 2011 to re-inspect, the bars had gotten worse and received 39 violation points. Theatre Refreshment Co of NY runs the bars at the Broadhurst, which is owned by the Shubert Organization.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 3:27pm

Geez, as someone who has worked at the bar of a Broadway theatre, you need to be purposefully not doing your job to not have these things clean.

[spike3]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 3:32pm

True. They received more violation points and a lower grade than some full scale restaurants in the city.
I suppose this is why Theatre Refreshment Co of NY is so adamant about not displaying the grades they receive from the Dept of Health. Updated On: 8/15/11 at 03:32 PM

[spike3]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 7:17pm

OMG! Besides the Broadhurst I just found out that the bars at the Ambassador Theatre, also run by Theatre Refreshment Co of NY received 66 violation points. In their inspection of April 2011 it was 22 violation points, now its up to 66. It has gotten worse. What is going on with the bars? What are the managers and bartenders doing or rather not doing???

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 7:19pm

So I guess the lesson here is, have a drink before you head to the theatre?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 7:20pm

And considering they are only mixing drinks....you wouldn't think they COULD rack up too many points! They don't even have any food that isn't pre sealed to sell....do they????

[timote316]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 9:11pm

I'm going to assume (hope?) that the violations are some sort of technicality... the basket for tips too close to the service area, or workers handling money then serving drinks, for example. Other than that, I can't possibly think of many other ways to violate health codes.

[henryt]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 9:21pm

These are the violations for the Broadhurst:
1) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
3) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
4) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.


And for the Ambassador:
1) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
2) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
3) No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment.
4) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.



Source: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.shtml

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 9:39pm

Darn. Maybe people will have to pass up their noisy drink cups and crinkly candy wrappers while in the theatre.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 11:58pm

^ hear, hear!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 12:47am

Gross.

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 8:42am

I can't imagine why anyone would get a drink at the Ambassador bar when the charming bar at the Michelangelo Hotel is just around the corner. You can get a bigger, better drink in a much more civilized atmosphere for about the same money.

As for the Broadhurst, Sardi's is just across the freakin' street. It ain't what it used to be, but I'm not aware of any rat violations and you can sit at the bar upstairs and see the front doors so you know when the entrance line has shortened.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 8:50am

CarolinaGuy, I couldn't agree more. I enjoy a pre-performance drink, but I never get one at the theatre. The theatre district and 9th Avenue have many wonderful places to get a pre-theatre cocktail. I usually go with Angus if I don't want to travel too far but there are plenty of options.

[sally1112]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 9:52am

Good thing alcohol kills several germs!

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:20am

Angus McIndoe has a 'grade pending' right now (27 violation points, down from 45 in 06/2011.) 28 or more points is a C.

Sardi's has 12 points, but you can have 0-13 points and still have an A.

I can't find the Michelangelo Hotel bar on the NYC.gov website.

(I'm becoming obsessed with these grades - the Dean & Deluca on 46th and the Starbucks on 42/8th both have Bs right now, and I haven't been in either one since.)

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:29am

Having supported myself through college and grad school working as a waiter and bartender, I have very little qualms about anything concerning restaurants. Whatever you can dig up, I've seen worse. My aversion to theatre bars has more to do with overpricing than anything else.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:33am

AC-I agree with you wholeheartedly. I also just don't like the idea of people bringing food and beverages to their seats during the show-it's way too much of a distraction. A bottle of water is one thing, but I abhor the constant shaking of cups with ice in them to squeeze every last bit of that overpriced beverage from the container. (Also-I will never understand how people can be unable to get through a few hours without eating or drinking, the aforementioned bottled water aside.)

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:36am

The Michelangelo's bar is called the Insieme Lounge.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:39am

Dreaming, you hit the nail on the head. Nothing annoys me more than when someone buys those overpriced "souvenir" cups and shakes their ice for two hours straight. Congratulations: you just paid $22 for a three-ounce pour of Jameson and now you feel the need to treat it like a tambourine while I'm trying to watch a show.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:40am

Some theatres still enforce a no beverage policy in the theatre- I know American Airlines does (or did, maybe it's changed?)

The whole cup thing is a money grab, pure and simple. It's not about accommodating the guest, it's about getting them to lay down even more money.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:44am

AC-My horror story is that I was sitting in an excellent seat to watch Bernadette Peters in A Little Night Music and during "Send in the Clowns" the person next to me decided it was time to shake the cup, which still had ice in it. I tried giving them a glare, but they were utterly clueless. I managed to hear the song okay, but for what I paid for my ticket I felt I should have had the full experience without the accompaniment next to me.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:48am

"The whole cup thing is a money grab, pure and simple. It's not about accommodating the guest, it's about getting them to lay down even more money."

Yes and no. It was felt that people would be more likely to make a bar purchase if they were allowed to bring drinks to their seats. The souvenir cups (which you can bring back to the respective theater owner's theaters) were an afterthought.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 10:50am

Fosse76, I'm failing to see the "no" part in your post.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 2:25pm

AC,

The "No" part is there. Truth be told, the price mark-up for the cups is generally $1.. ultimately negligible, yes. As was stated in the previous post, you can bring the cup back to the souvenir stand and get a refill for (usually) $2. If you get a beverage before the show and a beverage at intermission, that is $7 rather than $8 for two drinks without a souvenir cup *and* the souvenir cup teds to hold a larger pour.

If you are a fan of a show and make a few return visits, you can wash your cup and bring it back and then only pay $2 for the refill, so you continue to save. Obviously not everyone makes return visits, but the point is worth mentioning.

It also does help house staff. They result in less messy spills - even when just being consumed in the lobby / behind seating areas and it can be less hectic / results in fewer sometimes heated confrontations - which I HAVE witnessed over the years.. bad ones - as guests try to bring open containers back to their seats.

Side note - I always make a point of requesting very lite ice or no ice so that if I don't finish my beverage before the act begins, I won't have to worry about rattling. I have never ONCE had a bartender refuse that request and more often than not, they know exactly why I made the request and they comment positively.


As far as bar violations go, I am in no way giving them a pass on many of them, but there ARE certainly technicalities that are unavoidable for a (/most) theatre bar and an inspector can really chose to stick it to them for those things if they so desire. The entire bar set up can be spotless, but due to the setting, certain things just can not be helped.

[spike3]

Posted: 8/16/11 at 2:54pm

some info: the cups that Theatre Refreshment sells costs them about 40-65 cents apiece. They in turn sell it to the theatre patron for $5.00, plus whatever you get to drink. Refills are more than $2.00. If your drink (liquor) was originally $15.00 your refill is $10.00.
As for the inspections, true some violations cannot be avoided. But in the case of both the Broadhurst and Ambassador, it seems that upon a second inspection, the violations increased. One would think, and hope that the company that runs the bars would want to decrease the number of violations. But as this was not the case at the Broadhurst, a C grade was given. What happens at the Ambassador who knows? Probably the same grade.
Point being, if you know that there is a problem with mice, roaches, flies, you make an attempt to stay on top of these situations so that they can be kept under control. Point being, if there is mold in the ice machines, soda guns or coolers, you clean them as much as is needed. Its called anticipating and being on top of things. Sometimes it is best to not only think about quantity.


Updated On: 8/16/11 at 02:54 PM