Closings

Max Fish Will Leave Ludlow After 21 Years (and the Pink Pony, Too?)

Photo: Lauren Klain Carton

It’s ironic, since we just cited Max Fish, the Elaine’s of the Lower East Side skater-artist-scenester set, as an example of a bar that has kept it going while others drop off (it’s celebrating its 21st anniversary), but owner Ulli Rimkus confirms earlier rumors that the Fish isn’t long for this world — in fact, it’s closing on January 30. Actually, we should’ve seen it coming, since back in July, Rimkus went before the Community Board in an attempt to move to 195 Chrystie Street. Now she tells Paper that he wasn’t able to come to an agreement with his landlord and “plans on reopening in the near future with the same friendly bartenders and friendly prices.” Meanwhile, another Ludlow Street institution, the Pink Pony, is also said to be closing, and it’s uncertain whether it’ll reopen.

Gabriella Gershenson described the café, in its nymag.com listing, as “perhaps one of the best places for an uptowner or out-of-towner to observe the hipster in his natural habitat.” Not anymore. Well, there’s still El Sombrero, though you won’t really find Ludlow Street’s old guard there. Expect the memories of Max Fish to come pouring in, mostly from the same folks who are still in shock over the possible shuttering of Mars Bar.

Update: Lucien Bahaj Confirms Closing of Pink Pony: ‘We Can Move It Somewhere Else’

Max Fish Will Leave Ludlow After 21 Years (and the Pink Pony, Too?)