Midtown Sports Bar Foley's Won't Reopen After Coronavirus: Owner

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Midtown Manhattan sports bar Foley's NY Pub, a haven for baseball fans and fans of St. Louis' pro sports teams, will not reopen when social distancing restrictions on bars and restaurants are lifted, owner Shaun Clancy announced Friday.

Clancy thanked customers of the longtime West 33rd Street pub, his staff and his family for supporting the business over the years in a somber video message posted to the bar's Twitter account.

"Foley's won't reopen. Just with everything that's going on there's just no way that I can see that we can do it," Clancy said. "I really don't know what to say except to thank you all for everything that you've done. Foley's was always about the people, even now as I look around there are so many memories."

Foley's was forced to shut down in March due to city and state measures to limit congregant businesses such as bars, nightclubs and movie theaters in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Confirmed cases in New York were spreading exponentially at the time. With more than 199,000 confirmed infections and 16,737 confirmed deaths, with another 4,740 probable deaths, New York City has been one of the hardest hit places in the globe.

Clancy's Friday video message represented a sharp turn since the bar owner spoke to the Daily News in April for an article about the plight of sports bars amid the pandemic. At the time, Clancy seemed sure the business would one day reopen.

"When they come back, we will be there," Clancy told the Daily News in April. "And we will do everything we can to be the home that people want."

Many New York City baseball fans and baseball writers from around the country took to social media to eulogize one of their favorite bars on Friday.

"Foley's was our Cheers. We created so many fond memories within those walls. Shaun, thank you for being a gracious host and a warm friend to all of New York baseball. We will be looking forward to the next chapter!" Major League Baseball reporter Bryan Hoch said on Twitter.