Arlene's Grocery

95 Stanton St. · btwn Ludlow & Orchard St.
Lower East Side, Manhattan

In 2026

Still pouring

Checked October 15, 2026.

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Overview

The oldest and also the number one music venue on the Lower East Side. Covers tend to be cheap, the acts tend to be well above par, and people are there to have fun. There's even live band karaoke on Monday nights.

History

The bodega that switched to bands

We called Arlene's Grocery the oldest music venue on the Lower East Side. Its own site is more modest: it opened in 1995, in a former bodega, as one of the first¹.

The Strokes played there in 2000². By the time we wrote it up, the covers were cheap, the bands were well above par, and Monday nights meant live-band karaoke.

In March 2020 Arlene's closed and postponed its calendar of shows³. In January 2021 D'Angelico Guitars gave $15,000 to help keep it afloat⁴.

It's still at 95 Stanton Street, booking shows thirty years on^{1, 5}.

Sources

Researched October 2026.

What's nearby

Stanton Social under 0.1 mi Closed
Cafe Charbon under 0.1 mi Closed; now Hair of the Dog
Dark Room under 0.1 mi Closed
Pianos under 0.1 mi Still pouring
The Blue Seats under 0.1 mi Closed; now Apartment 5
The Living Room under 0.1 mi Closed; now BAXTER ST at the Camera Club of New York
The Annex under 0.1 mi Closed; now Karaoke Boho
The Slipper Room under 0.1 mi Still pouring
Cake Shop under 0.1 mi Closed
Paladar under 0.1 mi Closed; now Bar Revival