Angel's Share

Angel's Share
Map
Restaurant information
Established1993 (1993)
ClosedMarch 21, 2022 (2022-03-21)
Street address8 Stuyvesant St., Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates40°43′47″N 73°59′21″W / 40.729766°N 73.989161°W / 40.729766; -73.989161
Websitewww.angelssharenyc.com

Angel's Share was a speakeasy-style bar in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. The Japanese-style bar was one of the pioneering establishments in the cocktail renaissance.[1][2]

The bar had an outsized influence on the craft cocktail movement, and was among several Japanese-owned businesses on a section of Stuyvesant Street, developed by Tadao "Tony" Yoshida. The bar directly influenced Sasha Petraske, who founded Milk & Honey, which inspired bars around the world.[3]

The upscale craft cocktail bar had a "romantic room" and a view of Stuyvesant Triangle.[4] It opened in 1993.[5] The bar utilized elements of Japanese bartending, including measuring, stirring, and shaking drinks with precision: something still practiced in Japan while the U.S. was in a "dark age" in the bar industry.[6]

Pioneering bartender Sasha Petraske began visiting Angel's Share in the 1990s, ordering its classics and learning the precision involved in Japanese bartending before opening his own influential bar, Milk & Honey, in 1999.[6]

The bar became immensely popular by around 2015, with long lines and waits of up to an hour, taking away from its element of secrecy. The bar's owners decided to open another speakeasy, sometimes referred to as an annex of Angel's Share, above Sharaku, a restaurant owned by Yoshida. The bar was oriented more toward classic cocktails, allowing its bartenders to moreso highlight classic Japanese bartending techniques.[4]

The bar operated for nearly 30 years in its location in the East Village. It faced eviction as reported in mid-March 2022; an old lease agreement ended and a massive rent hike would have taken place.[7] The bar's last day was March 31, 2022, involving a line stretching down the block until last call.[3] Later in 2022, the bar reopened as a summer pop-up in the Hotel Eventi in Midtown by owner Erina Yoshida. The pop-up is also hidden, and has nearly all the same staff, some of the old tables and chairs, and some of the original cocktails. The hotel will eventually open its own speakeasy in the space, and the bar's owner, Erina Yoshida, intends to reopen Angel's Share in a permanent location.[2]

In March 2023, it was announced that the bar will reopen, own and run by Erina Yoshida. It will be located at 45 Grove Street in West Village.[8]

Further reading

  • Simonson, Robert (2016). A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-60774-754-3. OCLC 933567553.

References

  1. ^ Repanich, Jeremy (November 19, 2019). "14 Bars That Changed Cocktails Forever in America". Robb Report. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Simonson, Robert (May 23, 2022). "Angel's Share, a Pioneering Cocktail Bar, Will Pop Up Again for Summer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Simonson, Robert (April 8, 2022). "The Mysterious Man Who Built (and Then Lost) Little Tokyo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Dai, Serena (December 14, 2015). "Secret Bar Angel's Share Has Another Secret Bar". Eater NY. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Crowley, Chris (April 1, 2022). "Angel's Share Has Gone to Cocktail-Bar Heaven". Grub Street. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Ross, Christopher. "What Exactly Is a 'Japanese-Style' Cocktail Bar?". PUNCH. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Yakas, Ben (March 11, 2022). "Angel's Share patrons lament the possible relocation of a beloved East Village speakeasy". Gothamist. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  8. ^ Simonson, Robert (March 9, 2023). "Angel's Share Finds a New Home in Greenwich Village". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2023.