After nine years, beloved Gramercy neighborhood bar Plug Uglies is closing its doors at its current location on 3rd Avenue and 21st Street and reopening a mere block and a half away on the corner of 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue. Known for its laid back yet lively vibe, Plug Uglies (named after one of the notorious gangs of 1800’s New York) will officially welcome visitors to its new location at 295 3rd Ave on Saturday night, June 8th.
Serving Gramercy for 27 years, this marks the second move for the bar in a neighborhood that is constantly shifting and changing. The current location is closing due to the construction of a new high-rise building coming to the area. For owner Dieter Seelig, the loss of the current location is personal.
He says, “We are so sad to see this Plug Uglies close. This location is where my wife and I met and fell in love. It’s where we celebrated after our wedding. It means a lot to us, and we know it means a lot to our neighbors.”
Even though the neighborhood has changed quite a bit since Brian Stapleton and his father, Mike, opened the first Plug Uglies in 1997, an excited Stapleton says. “We love the people here and we are thrilled to be staying close by. Our ambition for Plug Uglies is to serve our customers well and remain a staple of Gramercy for a long time to come.”
The new Plug Uglies location offers a much larger space and features a comfortable, inviting old world-meets-modern aesthetic with 125 year old pine seating and bar top, 15 televisions for sports, a fresh selection of cocktails, and, of course, New York’s longest free shuffleboard table. This location joins the Upper East Side location, opened in 2022, as one of the city’s premier sports bars – designed to bring people together.
PLUG UGLIES TIMELINE
In the course of its 27 years in business, Plug Uglies has had three different locations in the Gramercy neighborhood:
Plug Uglies 1.0
257 3rd Avenue, 1997-2015
Plug Uglies 2.0
256 3rd Avenue, 2015-2024
Plug Uglies 3.0
295 3rd Avenue 2024-
Visit www.PlugUgliesNYC.com for more information.
