EAST VILLAGE — Neighborhood sports bar Dempsey’s Pub will shutter this Sunday, April 17, after 24 years in the East Village.
The beloved watering hole — which first opened its doors at 61 Second Ave. in 1992 — will bid the neighborhood farewell with all-day happy hour specials featuring $5 beer, wine and well drinks every day leading up to the final goodbye, as well as canned and bottled beer specials on closing night.
The closure is bittersweet, owner Tom O'Byrne told DNAinfo New York, but the pub's spirit will live on in its handful of sister venues.
"Like all great things, Dempsey’s Pub must come to an end," he said in an email. "We continue to have a presence in the neighborhood with Slainte and Cooper’s Craft & Kitchen. Cheers to new beginnings and big news to come!”
O'Byrne decided to close the pub in order to focus on his other establishments — though the decision is also partly related to skyrocketing rents and a decline in business, the bar owner told Bedford and Bowery.
The bar’s weekly trivia nights and traditional Irish music sessions will carry on at Slainte Bar and Lounge at 304 Bowery.