Sam's. Charlies'. Barrymore's. McHale's. And now the Edison.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 10:49am

I feel sorry for those who are too young to have known these theater-district restaurants.

They were affordable places frequented by theatergoers and theater professionals alike. Tourists wandered in for a drink and a cheap bite, before or after the theater, and found themselves sitting next to performers and stagehands, directors and designers, PR people and stage managers, choreographers and dancers, and dreamers. They were chorus kids and gypsies at Sam's and Charlies' (note the apostrophe after the S--there were two Charlies). Stagehands congregated at McGale's. Everyone came together at Barrymore's.

You could get a $3 beer and a cheap burger or a salad or an "entree." They were convivial places, comfortable and comforting, inviting and allowing. Friendships and relationships were forged in these places, and gossiped about, and dissolved. Laughs were shared, tears were shed, and as the 1980s wore on, toasts were made to empty chairs at empty tables.

Careers were worried over, the question "why wasn't I up for that?" was asked endlessly, opening nights were celebrated and closings were mourned.

Through it all there was a man named Craig Dawson who seemed to be the mayor of 45th Street. Tall, blond-ish, he started as a waiter at Charlies', became a maitre d' when it changed its name to Sam's, and then he was the host at Barrymore's until it closed.



He remembered everyone's name with a flourish of a feathered boa, and he and the staff at those places made the theater seem more like a community. Waitstaff were hired, sent off with a cheer when they got a show, and welcomed back with no judgment when the show closed.

Now even the Edison is going too. These are places no Starbucks can replace. And don't think for a moment that a $15 cocktail replaces a $3 beer. And nothing can replace a man with a feathered boa remembering your name.

Updated On: 11/7/14 at 10:49 AM

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 10:54am

I feel OLD-because I remember ALL of these places! I used to go to Barrymore's before a matinee when I came in on a Sat. before I moved here. I loved the atmosphere. I also liked Sam's and Charlies'.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 10:54am

I like how now when you come to New York, you don't have to worry about trying new places since everything is the same as wherever the f*ck you flew in from. It makes decisions so much easier!

[Feste]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:36am

I used to work at Sam's. Craig was amazing and I met some wonderful people there. I hadn't even realized it closed when I wandered over one day to see a parking lot. Very sad.

Updated On: 11/7/14 at 11:36 AM

[Feste]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:38am

I guess we still have Joe Allen's...

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:39am

Joe Allen's is very expensive. The difference between them and the other establishments is that they were more reasonably priced.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:51am

But we should be very nice to Joe Allen's--and to Angus and to Birdland and to 54 Below--because they're all that's left, even if their prices are higher than Barrymore's or Charlies' or the Edison.

But I feel sorry for the kids.

[Feste]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:53am

I miss O'Flaherty's, too... and Don't Tell Mama when it was more of a local and less of a tourist place.

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:54am

PJ-Those places are too rich for my blood. In my opinion, they're the ones who should be winnowed out.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 11:54am

We lost Smith's recently too
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/nyregion/smiths-bar-closing-in-times-square.html

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:05pm

Dreaming--once you get rid of those, you have nothing theater-oriented left.

I consider them splurges for special occasions.

[Feste]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:06pm

Not in the theatre district, but I really miss Eighty Eight's a lot.


The kids these days are really missing out.
Updated On: 11/7/14 at 12:06 PM

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:07pm

Right. The Edison I went to A LOT! Because it was far less expensive. Angus I won't go back to-the food is so mediocre and the prices out of sight.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:08pm

Angus isn't worth the "splurge" anymore, unfortunately. It's become an overpriced tourist trap. I enjoyed it during its early years, but I fear it's beyond repair now.

[newintown]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 12:46pm

Oh, and don't forget the old original Delmonico's - Lil Russell and Diamond Jim always knew how to make an entrance there. And Texas Guinan's 300 Club - you could see little Ruby Keeler dancing in the chorus, before those mob boys snapped her up. And The Cub Room! Where the elite. Meet.

Those were the days...

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/7/14 at 1:04pm

sorry to burst some bubbles but the Edison is a dump, and its management has long been too greedy to modernize-or even to take credit cards! I realize there are a limited number of people for whom it means something, but not nearly enough to make it functional. And I realize there are moments of history of the "x ate here" and "y was written here" variety but if we preserve every one of those in NYC we have to turn the city into a museum, and that it most certainly is not. We have to be judicious in what we choose to preserve, lest preservation lose its meaning. The Edison is not worth preserving. What some fail to recognize is that in trying to preserve too much, instead of retaining the character of the city, one is losing it, because Damon Runyon did not hang out in relics of past eras.