West Village Legend Chumley's Officially Taking Reservations for September Opening

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The legendary Chumley's has tragically been closed since 2007 after a chimney collapsed in its dining room, leaving a wall unstable. But finally, after a nine-year wait, the restaurant's website on Tuesday offered the option to make a reservation for its highly anticipated Sept. 6 opening.

It was recently taken on as a project by restaurateur Alessandro Borgognone of Sushi Nakawaza. The new chef, Victoria Blamey, who was previously at Atera in Tribeca, will be serving "well-executed classics," Eater reported. Eater described the future establishment back in February:

When the renovations are complete, the dining room will accommodate 35 guests and there will be a concise food menu of half a dozen or so "well executed classics" — think burgers, wings, and steak frites. Prices are expected to be in the $10 to $25 range. There will also be multiple beers on tap, and the team will be working with local breweries to develop a house ale. There will also be a comprehensive cocktail program with prices projected to be in the $10 to $15.

Chumley's opened in 1922 and was frequented by literary legends like Jack Kerouac and Edna St. Vincent Millay. It had no sign, so you had to know about it to hang there. When a chimney collapsed in 2007 (not during open hours so no one was hurt), it destroyed Chumley's dining room, forcing it to close its mysterious doors. Neighbors fought against the reopening of the establishment for years because they were afraid another bar would be noisy.

This Chumley's won't be like the old one, Borgognone told The New York Times.

"We’re at a different point. We’re in a different era," Borgognone told the Times. "The rents are different. That plays a part in what you sell."

Instead, meals will run visitors around $50 each, before the booze. The decor will feature book jackets of famous people who visited the bar in the past. But no sign will be added, so it can continue to be the ever-elusive legend it has been for almost a century.

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