Owner of iconic NYC dive bar Lucy’s facing eviction, opens up about future of her business
The beloved owner of Lucy’s — the iconic East Village dive bar facing eviction — says she would welcome an investor or partner to keep her business afloat, but she is not ruling out retirement.
Ludwika “Lucy” Mickevicius, 81, who has owned the legendary namesake watering hole on Avenue A for nearly four decades, has no plans to reopen the bar at a new location, “because I’m not finished here,” she told the neighborhood blog EV Grieve.
The bar is facing eviction within 30 days from its new landlord, West Lake 135-139 Avenue A LLC, which purchased the building that houses Lucy’s for more than $19 million in December.
Mickevicius said that her previous monthly rent was $8,000 — but now she is being forced to pay $25,000 per month, though there might be some wiggle room to negotiate.
“I have paid the January and February rent, but I didn’t open because I am afraid of the new rent,” she told the blog.
The iconic drinking establishment has been closed to customers for the past three months, with the city Department of Health shuttering Lucy’s for operating without a Food Protection Certificate.
Mickevicius said she has obtained a new liquor license after her previous one had expired in November — but her bar’s future still appears uncertain.
The business is facing additional hurdles, including a lack of staff and an insufficient supply of top-shelf liquor that would draw in customers with a more discerning taste.
“We have alcohol, but maybe not enough, and I don’t have money to buy the good alcohol, so people have different choices to drink,” Mickevicius explained. “I have beer — lots of Miller High Life — and regular alcohol, but not the good stuff.”
Lucy’s currently does not have a bartender on its payroll, or any other workers, Mickevicius said.
“You must teach them, and they must have a permit from the health department,” she told the blog. “Last time, they did not have a permit and I got in trouble. Big trouble.”
The veteran bar owner is now weighing her options.
For Mickevicius, the preferred scenario would be to enter into a business partnership with an investor and reserve for herself a reduced role.
If that does not pan out, Mickevicius said she would sell Lucy’s and retire — but she is not interested in moving.
“I don’t think about this now, a new location,” she said.
Mickevicius has been presiding over the drinking joint, popular for its cheap beer, since December 1987.
She has been known to offer her patrons a shot of Polish vodka on the house, Gothamist reported.
Her lease on the bar expired in May 2015, and since then she has been renting the property on a month-to-month basis.
At the height of the COVID pandemic, the East Village institution closed for more than two months.
When it reopened in May 2020, the owner said she owed her landlord $50,000 for rent and utilities.
