Customers call La Negrita Columbus Avenue’s best-kept secret, and apparently they are right. The 109th Street bar will close its doors indefinitely on Saturday due to low patronage.
The beloved campus watering hole, which opened four years ago, is frequented by students and local residents seeking refuge from the retail hub of Broadway and the loud nightlife of Amsterdam Avenue.
Operating at first as a coffee shop by day, La Negrita was forced months ago to limit its hours to the evening, a decision that marked one of the first recession-related casualties.
According to manager Jared Cardon, the decline in business has made it financially impossible to keep the bar running.
“Business has dropped off since September,” Cardon said. “Instead of coming four days out of a week, locals come only two days a week.”
Cardon has noticed customers coming less frequently and buying cheaper drinks, a sign that many patrons are facing financial troubles.
“This area has been hit really hard by landlords who have been greedier than they have to be,” he said.
News of the bar’s closing brought surprise and disappointment to regular customers.
“The vibe here is much better than Amsterdam,” said local resident Rob Cahill, who recalled watching the World Series at La Negrita last year.
Bartender Jason Veasey agreed, referring to the bar as an escape from undergraduate nightlife for older graduate students. “People feel very comfortable here. It is very regular-based,” Veasey said.
Cardon estimated that two-thirds of the bar’s patronage was Columbia students.
Jim King, who comes to La Negrita once or twice a week, said he would miss it primarily because it was one of the few places where he could “get drinks and WiFi.”
Will Gallaway, King’s coworker, said he would have to find a new place to go at night. “Closing down La Negrita makes us homeless,” he said.
Because the bartenders are friends with the customers, and the bar offers late hours in an otherwise quiet area, Cardon said, “La Negrita has been great for the neighborhood.”
Though customers were generally upset at the news, some felt it could have been prevented. One patron, eating fries he bought across the street, said the bar “needs food.”
King suggested that La Negrita would have survived if it had expanded to the sidewalk for outdoor seating and spiced up the interior design.
“They were not really investing in this place,” he said.
But Veasey stressed that his customers wouldn’t have appreciated these ammenities.
“People like that this bar doesn’t have a gimmick, no theme,” he said. “It is unpretentious.”
As for the future of the space, Cardon said it may feature a similar bar with a different name.
“There are many interested parties who want to do something with this space,” he said, adding that all prospective renters are loyal patrons who “get the La Negrita vibe.”
Gallaway agreed, saying he would like to see the space converted into a “club and lounge.”