80-Year-Old Tavern Closes (Temporarily?) After Failing Health Inspection

A tavern on the Upper West Side that’s been a fixture in the neighborhood for over 80 years was forced to close at least temporarily recently after accumulating too many negative points in an inspection by the City Health Dept.

The Emerald Inn–which has been a part of the neighborhood since 1943–was forced to shut its doors on Sept. 17 after it accumulated dozens of health code violations which included evidence of live rats and roaches in food preparation areas.

It is not clear at this time when the bar will reopen. Messages left at the establishment for the owner Charlie Campbell III were not returned, although one West Side blog said it did reach the owner who said he hoped to open “tomorrow.”

But any reopening has not happened yet. When the West Side Spirit visited days later, tables and chairs could be seen neatly stacked against a wall. The lights were turned on and a reporter heard and saw a tv playing on the back wall.

A man who said he was not the owner answered the door. He said the place was closed, and declined further comment. On subsequent calls to The Emerald Inn the person listed as the owner on the tavern’s liquor license, Charlie Campbell III, could not be reached.

According to ABCEats, a City Health Department website, the Emerald was closed due to accumulating a health inspection score of 51. Similar to scores in golf, restaurants don’t want to accumulate points during a health inspection. Racking up 28 points or more earns an establishment the dreaded “C” grade, which the Health Dept labels a public health risk and results in closure until the condition is cured.

The sanitary violations for the Emerald on the City Health website include: “live roaches in facility’s food or non-food area”; “raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point] plan”; “evidence of rats or live rats in establishment’s food or non-food areas”; and “food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination.”

This is not the first time the establishment has had health violations. On April 11, 2023, the Emerald scored 13 points; which still gave it an “A” rating. The violations at that time included lack of food protection from contamination. On July 28, 2022, no points were scored, but violations were still issued, which included evidence of rats, and the presence of “filth flies or food/refuse/sewage” in eating and non-eating areas.”

The Emerald was first opened over 80 years ago, during World War II. At that time, the Emerald was located between 69th and 70th on Columbus Avenue, and three generations of Campbells were working there: Mike Campbell, whose father opened the Emerald in 1943; Mike Campbell’s son Charles Campbell, and Charles’s son Charles III, the man listed as the current owner. Mike passed away in 2022, at the age of 90. In 2013, due to increasing rent prices, the Emerald was forced to relocate, taking the place of a recently-closed bar on W. 72nd St (P.D. O’Hurley’s)–where the Emerald has been located for the past 11 years.

“We’re working to get reopened, hopefully tomorrow,” the blog “I Love the Upper West Side.com” reported the owner saying recently. But a few tomorrows have come and gone and the Emerald was still closed.