Last Call for Abbey Tavern after 60+ Years in Kips Bay

Dying poinsettias, a dozen beer taps and a lot of memories are all that remain of the Abbey Tavern, which has survived on the same corner in Kips Bay for 60+ years through recessions, blackouts, Super Storm Sandy and the pandemic.

Jerry Toner opened it at at 26th Street and Third Avenue in 1963—when John F. Kennedy was in the White House.

“It is with sad hearts we announce that we have been unable to reach an agreement with our landlord and the Abbey Tavern will be closing permanently on the night of Jan. 20th,” said a sign still visible on its front door the day after it drew its last draught beer from one of a dozen taps.

One industry source said the landlord was seeking a monthly rent of $27,000.

A farewell note signed by Kathleen B. Dermot indicated she hopes to return with a new venture. Efforts to reach her and Gary Shannon, who is listed as owner and manager on Linkedin, were not successful.

The 4,000-square-foot site has been listed by KSR Realty, which did not return a call seeking comment.

The Abbey had a kitchen that dished out hearty entrees in the $20-to- $30 range, with some creative variations on pub grub that included sweet chili cauliflower bites, Abbey crispy vegetable spring rolls, a roast beef special called the Abbey Philly sandwich, cheese steak egg rolls, Reuben sliders and and, of course, corned beef and cabbage and traditional Irish stew. It had a loyal following among neighborhood residents, sports fans and students from nearby Baruch College.

Reviewers rated its bartenders an even bigger draw than its dozen large-screen TVs. “Great beer and atmosphere but the best part was meeting our authentically Irish bartender named Shauna!,” wrote a woman named Carol who dropped in with her family six months ago. “Loved learning all about Ireland from her!”

The occasional celebrity wandered in as well. “I used to frequent it a lot myself,” said Patrick McCarthy, publisher of the Irish Examiner, “as one day I got to meet Harrison Ford there and had a pint with him.”

The pub regularly broadcast championship hurling and Gaelic football games from Dublin plus the hard-fought matches of the Premier English soccer league and, of course, NFL, NBA and college games.

“Always a fun crowd and great staff,” wrote Kips Bay resident Robert Farfan in a farewell post alerting viewers on the Next Door site of the tavern’s demise. “All our favorite places are slowly slipping away.”

“Was a student at Baruch College in the late 70s and early 80s,” wrote Robert Berger on Next Door when he read the news. “Many a party and good time at the Abbey. Always marveled that it was still around whenever I passed by.”

The place was called the Abbey Tavern when Toner opened it in 1963 and had several other owners in recent years. Toner passed away in September 2017 at the age of 84. It had gone by Vertigo and Manhattan Brewhouse in recent years before some of the former owners reclaimed it in 2014 and switched its name back to the Abbey Tavern.

“Few pubs from that era remain,” added Farfan. “Sad indeed. Hope it finds a new home.”

Abbey’s demise in the face of skyrocketing rent has been repeated too often in recent years. Neary’s on the Upper East Side closed down this past summer, after the family that hung on for a few years after its legendary owner, Jimmy Neary, passed away decided to call it quits themselves.

A few storied saloons have made comebacks in recent years, including most recently Langan’s, which was a midtown fixture for 25 years. Owner Des O’Brien recently opened its doors as a new saloon, on West 47th Street, a few spaces down from the former location. Rosie O’Grady’s, which had been in business for 40 years on Seventh Avenue in midtown, also made a comeback, at the end of 2023, in a new location when owner Michael Carty—who got his start working with Toner at the Abbey—re-opened a new Rosie’s at a former Ruth’s Chris Steak House, on Seventh Avenue and 51st Street.

Plug Uglies, which is now in its third location, at 295 Third Ave., is a short distance from the shut-down Abbey. Co-owner Brian Stapleton has moved the pub’s sawdust-laden shuffleboard table to each new venue.

Kevin Mulligan took over a shut-down bar/restaurant on the northern end of the East Village at Second Avenue and E. 14th Street about two years ago and renamed it The Laurels. He’s kept the previous owners’ Notre Dame and Eagles sports connection, added a pub quiz night on Wednesdays and an Irish folk session on Sundays.

The owners of the Abbey hope to join the rare ranks of comeback kids, although where that might be is not yet known. In her farewell message posted on the door, Kathleen Dermot wrote: “This is not the end of our story, and we hope you join us for our next chapter.”