New Hell's Kitchen Dive Bar Honors Labor Union Legacy: Report

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A pair of Hell's Kitchen restaurateurs have opened up a new dive bar in the neighborhood with an eye towards its working-class roots, according to W42ST.

Local 42, a bar owned by Stephane Bibeau and Adam Schop on Ninth Avenue between West 41st and 42nd streets, will offer the neighborhood drinks, eats and a little slice of union history.

With the help of a union scenic artist, David Tousley, the bar is filled with notes honoring the bar's longtime legacy of being a union-friendly watering hole, the trio told W42ST.

Tousley told the local news magazine that he was brought on to help design a logo before the two co-owners had even decided on a name. "Historically, it being union friendly bar, we finally settled on Local 42,” Tousley told W42ST.

Beyond the name, Tousley took his skills as a scenic designer to fill the space with accents and notes to the neighborhood's union-friendly past.

Hard hats adorn the walls and above the bar, the legs of workers reading an old newspaper drape over a steel I-beam, a nod to the historic photo "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper."

And those newspapers, Tousley told W42ST, are authentic vintage Daily News papers from the 1960's salvaged from when he worked on the hit comedy show, "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel."

But hard hats and union stickers aren't the only way this new dive honors Hell's Kitchen. Some thirsty patrons might recognize some stools and booths, saved from Twins Irish pub that recently closed after over 50 years on Ninth Avenue.

"I went to Twins, and I got their foot rail, some of the bar stools, a blackboard and the three booths back here," Bibeau told W42ST. "I reclaimed them from Twins because they were demolishing the building."

Another nod to the working-class roots are what the owners call an "all-day happy hour," W42ST reports, with normal prices that the owners said are "as generous as many of the other local bars during their happy hours."

Schop, who has been involved with local eateries like Steak Frites, Zillions Pizza and Lovely Old Fashioned, will be serving up a full "value" menu, with items like Saachi Papas — a seared hot dog with fries and an array of sauces, writes W42ST.

You can find Local 42 at 574 Ninth Ave. and you can

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