Day the music died? SideWalk cafe closes
From left, Brent Cole, Adam Green and Jackie Dishes at SideWalk on
its closing night.
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THELONIOUS!
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CATAPULT!
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BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
After more than 30 years on Avenue
A, SideWalk cafe closed
after this past weekend. Famed
for its open mic, the place went out
with a blast with a fi nal installment of
the Antifolk Festival.
Local blog EV Grieve reported in
December that the bar and restaurant
at E. Sixth St. had new owners, Laura
Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor. According
to Grieve, Saniuk-Heinig is the
general manager at the Bar Room on E.
60th St. and Sartor co-owned August
Laura in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
The new owners reportedly plan
to keep live music, but it’s not exactly
clear what kind that will be.
Pitchfork noted that SideWalk provided
a stage early in their careers for
artists such as Beck — before he headed
west — Michelle Shocked, the Moldy
Peaches, Regina Spektor and Darwin
Deez, among others. (However, others
countered that Beck, in fact, never
played there.)
SideWalk was known for having live
music, comedy and open mics nightly
without any cover charge.
“Hope they don’t make it into a Starbucks,”
one regular lamented on Facebook.
The day after New Year’s, Downtown
lost another beloved live-performance
venue when the Cornelia St. Cafe
closed after more than four decades in
business.
“It’s about the rent,” the cafe’s owner,
Robin Hirsch, said at the time.
Diane Cluck and Lightning Lewis
performing on SideWalk’s last
night.
PHOTOS BY JIM FLYNN
Regina Spektor wowed the crowd, as usual.
Schneps Media TVG February 28, 2019 27
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