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Boots & Saddle To Serve First Pride Brunch In New West Village Home

By Danielle Tcholakian | June 22, 2015 7:01pm | Updated on June 23, 2015 7:12pm
 Boots & Saddle opened in its new, more spacious home on June 1.
Boots & Saddle Open In New 100A Seventh Ave. South Space
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WEST VILLAGE — Boots & Saddle will serve its first Pride brunch this weekend in its new home on Seventh Avenue South.

A Village institution for more than 40 years, the gay bar known for its nightly drag shows opened earlier this month at 100A Seventh Ave. South after some delays.

"It's been good," said manager and co-owner Rob Ziegler. "We still have our regulars and we're picking up some new ones."

They should have no problem accommodating new devotees: Their new basement space is nearly four times the size of the place they occupied at 76 Christopher St. for four decades.

"The neighborhood's fantastic," Ziegler added. "I don't miss the problems on Christopher Street."

Ziegler was known by many as a peace-keeping force on troubled Christopher Street, though others blamed the bar in part for the chaos.

Boots & Saddle's detractors prevented them from securing a few different locations before a member of the local community board suggested they check out the former Actors Playhouse. The space is below-ground, which alleviated some of the neighborhood concerns about noise and passing children witnessing drag shows.

Ziegler had wanted to expand the operation to include food, and was able to set up a small kitchen in the bar.

They serve brunch from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, offering $15 pitchers of screwdrivers or mimosas, and $15 entrees that come with a complimentary screwdriver, mimosa or Bloody Mary, with a second drink for $3.

Brunch dishes include chicken and waffles, omelets, bagels and lox, pulled pork sliders, a cobb salad, and a "breakfast flatbread" with bacon, egg and cheese.

They have a brunch drag show scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There are a total of four performances a day from Thursday through Sunday, with midnight karaoke on Saturday. Monday through Wednesday evenings there are three performances, staggered every two hours starting at 6 p.m.

Bar snacks include pizza, cobb salad, wings, quesadilla, hot dogs, chips and guacamole and sliders. Prices range from $5 to $13.

The bar opens at 2 p.m. on weekdays, and noon on weekends. They plan to stay open from noon to 4 a.m. this Sunday, June 28 for the Pride Parade.