The Dead Rabbit To Reopen On July 19th After Kitchen Fire

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY – The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog will reopen July 19th with a limited menu after a kitchen fire ripped through the popular Financial District pub Sunday and forced the bar to shutter, the owners announced on social media Thursday.

"As every fighter knows, it’s not getting knocked down that matters. It’s getting back up," a post on the bar's Facebook page reads. "We’ve rallied our equipment suppliers, contractors, pulled in a favor or two and we’ll get it done. We won’t have a full kitchen for a while yet, but you’ll never go hungry in The Dead Rabbit – so we’ve put together a killer all-day cold plate menu. Other than that, it’s mayhem as usual."

A cooking fire ignited the Sunday morning blaze that scorched the Water Street watering hole, which topped "The World's 50 Best Bars" list in 2016. Fire marshals ruled the swift-moving blaze accidental, and though the bar lacked working smoke detectors their absence likely did not play a role in how quickly the fire spread, an FDNY spokesman said.

The bar is no stranger to turmoil, opening just two months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Financial District in 2012. Since then, the bar has earned international acclaim with several awards.

"Hurricane Sandy had NYC in its grip the day we were first scheduled to open," the Facebook post continues. "Everyone told us to postpone. We went ahead. It worked out OK. So we were born in a hurricane, and forged in a fire."

Photo courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch