We noticed the missive posted by fellow blogger The Downtown Diaries about a recent poorly managed event at the ACE. We were in the neighborhood the other night, and decided to check out the scene. It was 7:00 PM on a Friday, and the door people had the infamous clicker and weren’t letting people in, claiming that they were “at capacity”.
Of course, the savvy know that such talk is nonsense – you can sneak into the lobby either through the neighboring Breslin restaurant, or now through the newly opened basement bar Liberty Hall. We popped up the stairs and found that “at capacity” apparently means “moderately full” – the door people were creating way too much hubbub based on what was going on inside.
It’s all a symptom of ACE’s popularity – this place is on fire, and should continue to attract the scenester hordes. They should get their door management down, it seems that they didn’t plan for the lobby bar (which is also the actual lobby) to prove so popular – it’s definitely not set up to be a mecca of nightlife.
In other ACE news, we did score a few drinks in their basement digs. We’ll give it a while to get it’s groove on before filing a complete review, but were definitely put off by paying hotel bar prices to sit on folding chairs in what is styled as a dimly lit basement rec room. It all seems so accidental – but maybe that was the plan all along.
I'll be looking for your review of the basement. "Sit on folding chairs in what is styled as a dimly lit basement rec room." I can't really decide if it's intriguing or off putting; guess I'll wait and see..
Posted by: Mark scoop.st | February 15, 2010 at 10:22 AM