WILLIAMSBURG — The owner of notorious dive Trash Bar unveiled plans to open a new nightspot on Montrose Avenue serving small plates, saying the new venture will be a place to "take my mom" and would represent a departure from his soon-to-shutter rock 'n' roll joint.
Aaron Pierce pitched his plan for the new bar and restaurant — which will serve dishes like beet salad, kale salad and charcuterie, with costs ranging from $7 to $13 — to Community Board 1's liquor license committee Wednesday.
The planned eatery at 63 Montrose Ave., tentatively named Gitano, would stay open till 4 a.m. to serve nightlife industry workers, Pierce said.
But the plan came up against opposition from a handful of neighbors who took issue with Trash Bar's reputation and who had dealt with problems from the former tenant of the space.
The previous bar at the address, Room 63, was "a nightmare" due to noise, smoking, fighting and drunk driving, locals said.
Building owner Delfin Vega said he had five tenants move out during the two-and-a-half years Room 63 was open.
After visiting Trash Bar and learning about its history of violations, those opposing Pierce's new joint worried it would be just like Trash Bar.
If Pierce had approached them with a more "legitimate" plan, like a restaurant with an earlier closing time, they would have been open to the idea, resident Andy Hock said.
"Trash Bar lives up to its name," he noted.
But Pierce insisted that the new spot will not be home to another Trash Bar, which is being pushed out of its 256 Grand St. location due to rising rent.
Pierce, an attorney, opened the neighborhood bar and music venue when he was 26. He's now 39 and married, he said. Gitano, a name that his wife picked out, will not have a stage for live music.
The backyard will be used for people to sit down and eat, and the hours will accommodate young professionals and service industry people eating late at night, he explained.
"It's going to be a totally different idea," Pierce said.
But the group of about five neighbors who showed up to rail against the plan wasn't entirely convinced.
Pierce hadn't listed that he owns Trash Bar on his liquor license application, even though he told Community Board 1's liquor license committee in person that he owns it.
The omission from the written application made him seem "disingenuous," the group said.
The residents also didn't understand why Gitano required security guards, if his plan is to only operate a restaurant that stays open until 4 a.m.
"It's two steps from the truth," Hock said.
Community Board 1's liquor license committee decided to postpone voting on Pierce's liquor license by another month, giving him time to reach out to local school P.S. 250, local police and the Lindsay Park Tenants Association, which represents the nearby affordable housing complex.
The neighbors agreed to meet with Pierce before the next meeting.
The community board's approval is only advisory, with the the State Liquor Authority making the final decision.
"You have a bad history with Trash Bar," said CB1 committee member Thomas Burrows. "People are going to bring it up, bring it up, bring it up."
Pierce said he's "facing those demons" and that he has struggled to get residents to support his new spot.
He does plan on opening another location of Trash Bar and is in talks about several Bushwick locations in hopes of opening by summer, he said. Pierce said he would hire "cooler people to run it" now that he is older and more settled.
However, Gitano will be more in line with his current phase in life.
"I could easily take my mom to the new space," he said. "I've taken my mom to Trash Bar once. It's not her thing."
