'We're In Survival Mode:' Historic Queens Bar Open All Week

WOODHAVEN, QUEENS — A historic Queens tavern announced over the weekend that it will stay open seven days a week, reversing course on a recent plan to close on Tuesdays.

Neir's Tavern, located at 87-48 78th Street in Woodhaven, posted over the weekend that it will remain open from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. The change in business hours comes less than a week after Neir's decided to close on Tuesdays — a day of rest that owner Loycent Gordon told Patch he can't afford to take right now.

"Right now we're still in survival mode. We need to stay open ten days a week," Gordon said, adding that business has remained tough during the pandemic. While he's now able to invite vaccinated customers indoors, Gordon had to lay off some of his unvaccinated staff when the city's vaccine mandate went into effect, which took a toll on him and his business.

"I understand the safety factor of it, but these are people that work very hard, they never miss work, and it's just sad the way that it happened. It's a very difficult emotional thing, these are people I care about," he said of the mandate-related layoffs.

After cutting his staff, Gordon decided to close on Tuesdays to prevent burnout, but when he hired some new workers he decided to return to week-long business hours, and bring back community favorites like "Trivia Tuesday" as of Oct. 12.

"We need customers," he said, adding that ideally events like trivia will incentivize people to come to the bar in order to make his new business hours worth it.

Gordon, however, hopes that in the future, when his business is more stable, he'll be able to stay closed one day a week "as a sign of a day of rest and a mental health day. Restaurant workers deserve it," he said.

Trivia night's return comes shortly after the tavern's street — located at the corner 78th Street and 88th Avenue — was co-named "Neir's Tavern Way," in honor of the watering hole, which some historians credit as the oldest bar in New York City.

“I’m very proud of how our community came together to save this storied establishment and to further preserve its place in Queens history with the street co-naming,” said City Council Member — and naming-ceremony officiant — Robert Holden, alluding to a time last year when the bar was in danger of shutting down.

Holden, and the city, helped the bar negotiate a new five-year lease, which includes an option to renew when the lease is up, records show.

Neir's Tavern is open until 11:00 p.m. seven days a week. During the week, from Monday through Friday, it opens at 2:00 p.m., and during the weekend the tavern opens at noon.