"MacDougal Street, in New York's Greenwich Village, exudes a rowdy air, and Matt Piacentini, managing partner at the Up & Up, feared it might be the bar's death knell. But shortly after it opened in 2015, he realized the location is in fact its "secret weapon," as he puts it. "The Up & Up is a space carved out of the chaos of the city.""
"A philosophy of "high-end, low-key" has fueled the Up & Up since day one, and Piacentini believes that atmosphere of "refined, but never flashy; beautiful, but never overbearing," is one of the reasons the subterranean lair has flourished all these years. That also makes the Up & Up a bit of a unicorn, since so many of the bars that kicked off the rebirth of the cocktail in the early 2000s have gone out of business, including in New York alone Milk & Honey, Flatiron Lounge, and Pegu Club."
"But at the same time other pioneering establishments are still thriving and are packed with old and new clientele. Employees Only, PDT, and Death & Co. continue to reel in new generations of drinkers. But given that every watering hole and restaurant now seems to offer a menu of classic drinks and boasts a selection of craft spirits, it's easy to take these stalwarts and the generation of impressive bars that immediately followed, for granted."
MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village projects a rowdy, chaotic energy, while the Up & Up occupies a subterranean space carved out of that chaos. The bar opened in 2015 and established a 'high-end, low-key' philosophy emphasizing refined, never flashy, and beautiful, never overbearing design. That restrained atmosphere and timelessness supported long-term relevance. Many early-2000s cocktail pioneers closed, including Milk & Honey, Flatiron Lounge, and Pegu Club, while others such as Employees Only, PDT, and Death & Co. continue to attract new generations. The craft-cocktail approach has proliferated, with classic-drink menus and craft spirits common across establishments.
Read at Men's Journal
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