The Avenue opened its doors in May 2023.
Sunday, August 4 marked the final last call at The Avenue: Bar and Kitchen. The Irish pub, located at 480 Amsterdam Avenue on the corner of West 83rd Street, opened its doors just a little over a year ago.
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“We tried everything,” said Colum Flattery, one of the owners who also bartends and developed much of the menu, when ILTUWS visited The Avenue this weekend. From live music to trivia nights and charity horse racing events—where patrons powered paper horses elevated above the bar by how fast they could turn a broom handle—it wasn’t enough.
One last Saturday night at The Ave
“We were operating at a loss,” said Flattery, who also pointed out how busy The Avenue had been since word spread about the closure. If business had been like that more often, he believes they’d still be open. “The Upper West Side is a tough place to get people to trust you. I feel we were guilty before proven innocent, which is a shame. We have fantastic customers, just not enough of them,” he said.
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Back in February 2024, ILTUWS reported news from a Community Board 7 meeting where “partners from Bustan, a Mediterranean restaurant at 487 Amsterdam Avenue (between 83rd and 84th streets), said they were in the process of assuming control of the space at 480 Amsterdam Avenue, located on the opposite corner of West 83rd Street.”
At the time, Flattery detailed he was surprised to hear that The Avenue was leaving the space as they had a ten-year lease and were up to date on their liquor license. “No deal has been done,” said Flattery when our report first came out.
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When asked about the future of the location this weekend, Flattery noted that Bustan, “after months of negotiations,” would be taking over the space, likely cutting the bar area in half and making it format more like a restaurant. “We needed an out. They’re businessmen just like us. We didn’t give it away, we got a great deal and we wish them the best of luck,” said Flattery.
“Oh no, I love this place,” said Starr Messick, a former Upper West Sider who now lives in Nashville, when asked about The Avenue closing. Messick, an independent artist, was commissioned to do artwork around the bar, including the cleverly painted awning in front of the kitchen area that made it look like a food truck.
Starr Messick and her artwork
“This would be my place where I’d come [when I visited],” Messick told us. “It feels like a local bar kind of thing to me.” She also mentioned how much she enjoyed the people she’d met there, praised Colum’s sweetness, and appreciated the kindness of the staff. Messick added that she had fond memories of the Raccoon Lodge which had a run at this address when she lived nearby.
There’s been a lot of turnover at 480 Amsterdam Avenue over the last several years—to the point that it would make a great Upper West Side trivia question.
Before The Avenue was Taco Tavern, which itself was a rebranding of Barnacho, which took over after J.G. Melon closed the location. Prior to that, the space was home to another popular burger spot, Joe’s.
ILTUWS reached out to Bustan to inquire about their plans.
I’m sorry to hear thst they’ve closed, but I was surprised to see another Irish Bar/Restaurant in the area when we have 5 others nearby. They had great chicken wings, but the service was slow even when there were few customers in the place.
I never understood what this place was supposed to be. You described it as an Irish pub when it opened but then proceeded to detail a Southern menu. What exactly made this an Irish pub rather than just another purveyor of food and drink with no unique identity?
People didn’t come out for JG Melon in that spot. I’m not sure what could work there.
He is a nice man but the bar had no discernible identity. He was often the waiter and the bartender and was very slow, the menu was very long and did not fill you with confidence that they knew how to make all those items or that they could all be fresh. It really just needed a clear concept and more staff but I understand that can be tough when operating at a loss. It’s too bad, it had a nice outdoor area.
Good riddance. Not at all sorry to see them go. Tried over charging just about every customer while going down with non-cash credit card fees even when paying cash lol. Chased most woman away by hitting on anyone with a pulse. Lord only knows what they were serving innocents toward the end with their outright greed. Their failure falls clearly on the clown running it into the ground. Let’s hope the new restaurant has an ounce of dignity and self-respect for their patrons and workers. Clearly, they didn’t. Next!