One of Bowery’s most fashionable bars is all about to undergo a major change.
Short Stories is a popular bar that opened up in 2019 at 355 Bowery. The concept was started by co-founders Ashwin Deshmukh, Danny Eran, and Matt Arnold, who wanted to establish a California-inspired all day-cafe that would offer drinks, dinner, and brunch at all hours of the day. Short Stories set itself apart from the competition by inviting guest chefs to host temporary pop-up dinners, hoping to give their favorite chefs a platform that would introduce them to a new audience. Decked out in millennial pink and green accents with pink velvet stools, Short Stories quickly found itself becoming one of the most popular brunch spots in the trendy neighborhood.
Now though, some serious changes are on their way to the popular bar and restaurant. The bar’s liquor license expired in January, and now a team of new owners is gearing up to make a few changes to the space. Short Stories has now been acquired by Something Good Hospitality, the hospitality company from Ilan and Chef Rafael Khutorsky. As a collective of Michelin-trained Chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, and creative professionals, SGH seeks to bring people together through food and hospitality. Their team has trained or helped open numerous Michelin-star restaurants in New York and San Francisco, including luminaries like Carbone, Le Bernadin, Eleven Madison Park, Danielle, Marea, Rich Table, Quince, and Atera.
With such a high-profile company taking over Short Stories, there are bound to be a few significant changes. The first change will be the menu, which will be designed by Chef Rafael himself, and will offer exciting fusion dishes like seafood “mariscos” platters, stuffed crab beignets, fish and chips, yakitori skewers, and oxtail empanadas, according to a menu attached to their liquor license application. According to Short Stories’ Instagram page, all in-house hospitality operations shut down on March First to allow the new owners to “revamp, renovate, and reorganize,” promising to “come back to you, better than ever, in Spring 2023“.
Short Stories representatives encountered some resistance from the community board when applying for their new liquor license. According to concerned residents, the previous owners pitched Short Stories as a cafe concept, but then slowly transitioned it into a club, staying open late at night and generating too much noise pollution. The new owners reassured the community that they had very different intentions and promised a more high-end dining experience that will bring in a new full kitchen as well as brand-new staff. The new owners are proposing operating hours of 10:00 AM – 2:00 AM Sunday through Monday and 10:00 AM – 4:00 AM Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, though those hours are subject to change pending SLA approval. The community board encouraged the owners to roll back their closing hours two hours earlier, though we will have to wait for the SLA’s approval before we know what the final hours will be. While you wait, you can follow Short Stories on Instagram for updates on all of their latest changes.
