On any given night, Bedford Street in the West Village can turn from a calm, brownstone-lined passageway to a hotspot for dressed-up dreamers. They’re waiting — or hoping — to snag a spot at The Eighty Six, a swanky steakhouse that’s become one of the hottest, if not most exclusive, restaurants in New York City.
That exclusivity is part of its allure. None of the hopefuls in the queue can get a peek inside until the imposing, dark green door opens for them. All they can see is what adorns the door: metal grilles and, below them, the number “86.” The restaurant’s name doesn’t just come from its street address. It’s a symbol of the space’s rich history.
The Eighty Six claims to be the location — 86 Bedford St. — where the term “86’d” or “to get 86’d” originated. It’s not the first to make the assertion. For years, many others have corroborated the story. (Though some accounts don’t agree. Merriam-Webster says the term comes from 1930s soda-counter slang, as employees would refer to an out-of-stock item as “86’d” because it sounds like “nixed.”)
But before The Eighty Six was The Eighty Six — it opened as part of Catch Hospitality Group last September — a number of fabled establishments occupied the space, the first of which was Chumley’s, a popular Prohibition-era speakeasy.
As one story goes, if the proprietors of the bar caught wind that the police were coming, everyone would evacuate — or 86 themselves. Another similar take says the Chumley’s owners would eject over-inebriated customers — or 86 them — to avoid catching the attention of the police.
Whichever way it actually went down is unclear, but no matter the case, the expression “to 86” now means “to throw something out” or “to be out of something.” Since its origins in the 1920s, the term, which has been picked up by the hospitality industry at large, has become an ambiguous yet integral piece of American slang.
Since then, the location has transformed into a fixture of Manhattan’s hospitality scene. As New York Magazine puts it, 86 Bedford St. is a “haunted, hallowed space, which has played host to a succession of establishments attempting to capitalize on its history.”
A Chicagoan named Lee Chumley moved to NYC and opened the bar in 1926. Chumley’s remained in operation through Prohibition and, soon after its repeal, became a downtown literary hub, attracting the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Simone de Beauvoir, and Allen Ginsberg.
After Prohibition, a series of mishaps tested the bar’s endurance. In 2007, Chumley’s shuttered after one of its walls collapsed, and in 2016, it reopened as a pricey restaurant. Four years later, it closed once and for all due to Covid-19-induced financial struggles.
Catch Hospitality Group took ownership of the space in 2024 and opened Frog Club. The group positioned the new iteration as a highly exclusive restaurant, and it lasted for under a year. Then came The Eighty Six. Now, the space harkens back to its early 20th-century history with Art Deco design touches and a heavy emphasis on Martinis, steak, and caviar. It also refers to its etymological history: The number “86” and the words “Eighty Six” decorate the entire bar, including the matchbooks, leather coasters, menus, and plates.
So, did Chumley’s and Frog Club get 86’d? They sure did. Will The Eighty Six get 86’d? Only time will tell.
The article How Buzzy Restaurant The Eighty Six Got Its Name — And It Isn’t Just the Address appeared first on VinePair.