Pete’s Tavern serves Italian-American cuisine and their famous 1864 House Ale with the same kind of high quality neighborhood service that made O. Henry (William Sydney Porter, an American short story writer) a loyal regular at the last turn of the century. The tavern has been in existence for over 150 years (it is one of several drinking establishments each claiming to be the oldest continuously operated tavern in the city). It offers both indoor and outdoor dining.
The building that houses Pete's was built in 1829, and was originally the Portman Hotel; liquor may have been sold there as early as 1851 or 1852 – when it was a "grocery & grog" store – and the first official drinking establishment founded by 1864. It was bought in 1899 by Tom and John Healy, and became Healy's. During prohibition, when selling alcohol was illegal, the bar continued to operate disguised as a flower shop.
The building which houses
the tavern was built in 1829 as the Portman Hotel.
The
writer O. Henry lived down the street at 55 Irving Place from 1903 to 1907, and
Healy's appears in his short story "The Lost Blend" under the name
"Kenealy's". Local legend also has it that he wrote his well-known
story "The Gift of the Magi" in Healy's second booth from the front,
but this appears to be apocryphal.
The
present name dates to the purchase of the establishment by Peter Belles in 1926.
Although
the tavern claims to be "an official historical landmark", it is
neither a designated New York City landmark nor is it on the National Register
of Historic Places. It does, however, lie within the Gramercy Park Historic
District designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in
1966.
Pete's
Tavern has appeared in numerous films and television programs, including Seinfeld,
Ragtime, Endless Love, Law & Order, Nurse Jackie,
Spin City, Sex and the City, and The Blacklist. It has also been
used as a location for television commercials and print advertisements.
