New York on Tap 2008
Archive · modern edition Every bar New York on Tap knew, as it stood around 2008, with a 2026 check on each one. This page in the 2008 edition
Blind Tiger, photographed for New York on Tap
Photo from the 2008 site

A New York on Tap pick

Blind Tiger

281 Bleecker St. · at Jones St
West Village, Manhattan

In 2026

Still pouring

Checked October 16, 2026.

Show on the map Directions See the 2008 page

Overview

By Chris Lukic

Fans of Blind Tiger's 20 taps and 2 handpumps rejoiced when it reopened at this Bleeker Street location in the Spring of 2007. The beer selection remains second to none attracting raucous after work crowds.

History

Outbid by a Starbucks, reprieved on Bleecker

The first Blind Tiger took over the One Potato, an old gay bar on the corner of 10th Street and Hudson in the West Village1. It was 1995, and by one bar owner's count the only two beer bars in New York City were dba and Mugs Ale House1.

When the ten-year lease ran out, the bar lost its space to a Starbucks willing to pay double the rent1. It announced its own execution, set for Tuesday, December 27, 2005, at 4am, and warned that there would be "no reprieve"2.

There was one, of a kind: in September 2006 the Blind Tiger, in Eater's words, "kinda sorta" reopened in new digs at Bleecker and Jones3. When we listed it, fans of its twenty taps and two handpumps were rejoicing, the beer selection was second to none, and the after-work crowds were raucous.

It's still at 281 Bleecker Street, open daily until 4am, with a reprieve every morning at 11:304.

Sources

  1. bkmag.com
  2. ny.eater.com
  3. ny.eater.com
  4. blindtigeralehouse.com

Researched October 2026.

What's nearby