A beloved Park Slope watering hole is shutting its doors next month because the pub can no longer keep up with the affluent neighborhood’s skyrocketing rents, owners said.
Seventh Avenue’s low-key Bar 4, popular for its weekly open mic and karaoke nights, will serve its final beer on Aug. 15 when it officially closes after 14 years.
“We faced a lot of economic hardships and the price of rent keeps going up, but the price of beer stays the same,” said co-owner Erin Felgar, who runs the corner joint near 15th Street with two partners.
Felgar said that when the trio first opened the cash-only pub in 1999, the area wasn’t the highly desirable enclave that it is now and rents were a lot cheaper.
“It was a seedier part of the neighborhood,” said the barkeep. “Now you have strollers everywhere and chalkboard paint and arugula – it’s a different scene.”
Felgar also attributed the bar’s closure to the fact that a seven-day-a-week business that’s open until 4 am was becoming too much to handle now that the proprietors are getting older and starting families.
The much-loved pub — complete with a photo booth and foosball table — attracted a steady clientele of regulars and locals who often came to see the countless musicians that have showcased their talents there over the years.
“It was a crazy chameleon of a bar. Some nights it was the spot where everyone was dancing and some nights it was quieter and some nights it was a raging music venue,” said Felgar, who admitted that shutting down the pub is upsetting for the owners as well as its many loyal patrons.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said, adding that every night until the end will be one giant farewell party. “There’s been a lot of tears already.”
Lovers of the laid back neighborhood institution were crying into their pints when they heard the news that the pub will soon be gone.
“Music soared at Bar 4, people sang aloud, smiles were abundant and the space felt like magic,” said longtime fan Meghan Murphy. “Bar 4 was and is about community, creativity, support, shenanigans, and all the great things that explode in the heart when those things collide.”
Musician Steve Hawk, who has performed at the pub a number of times with his bluegrass band BreezyGrass, said that the bar was a magnet for musically inclined folks.
“I was always amazed at the talent that was always present,” said Hawk. “Speaking as a musician, Bar 4 will be truly missed.”
Bar 4 will be hosting the 7th annual Local Correspondents music festival from Aug. 9 to Aug. 13 featuring performances by more than 50 songwriters and bands before the pub closes down. For information visit www.bar4brooklyn.com.
It is not yet known what will be opening in the bar’s place.
Reach reporter Natalie Musumeci at nmusumeci@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4505. Follow her at twitter.com/souleddout.
