National Underground & White Rabbit Close; Replacements Prep Arrival
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That’s all she wrote – two longtime East Houston watering holes just bit the dust. National Underground and White Rabbit both closed this week, as expected. Their bar replacements were approved for on-premise licenses by Community Board 3 last month. Here’s what we know so far.
159 East Houston, previously the DeGraw Brothers’ National Underground, will transform into an Irish pub with an “authentic” cultural experience. James Morrissey, who reportedly owns twenty establishments in his homeland, hopes to create the feel of an Irish rural country home in the 1940s. Shebeen Chic will serve traditional foods like Shepard’s Pie, beef stews, and fish and chips, all alongside “creative” events like poetry readings.
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Jimmy Chu had been at 145 East Houston for eighteen years with a number of different concepts, but White Rabbit was his last. In its place is an outpost of Queens bar Alewife, run with dudes from Idle Hands. Until the takeover, the painted gate will remain as reminder. The logo itself was snipped from the awning.
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