Pine Box Rock Shop will open soon at 12 Grattan Street. The facade was painted by street artist ROA. — Photos by Jeremy Sapienza
Jeff and Heather Rush weren’t sure if they should be identified by name in a piece about the new bar they are about to open on Grattan Street, just east of Bogart. But with only three weeks left until their soft opening, they throw caution to the wind — though their current boss at a bar in Manhattan has no idea they have been working for months to open their own establishment.
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Pine Box Rock Shop — named such for its previous life as a casket manufactory and because the interiors are clad almost completely in salvaged shipping pallets — will in addition to liquoring up the locals host live music in a large rear party area. Many other repurposed materials, from lighting to cooling equipment, were used to cut down on costs. The counters are clear resin encapsulating hundreds of concert tickets from shows the Rushes and their friends have attended over the years.
The partners do not plan a fussy gastropub for Morgantown; the bar runs at least 50 feet down the space, with some seating in the back. They are vegan, and so the bar snacks will be of the standard American kind like nuts and pretzels. “No beef jerky,” says Jeff.
They settled on Grattan Street after viewing a few other locations, including near their home off the Graham L stop. “But we didn’t want to be a nuisance — oh, another bar.” So they chose an area with no abundance of watering holes.
“Every time we’re here and the doors are open, people come by and say ‘great, when are you opening?’ It’s nice,” Jeff said.
Though the neighbors are easy going, the build-out has been plagued with problems. About two months ago, as the bar neared completion, roofers left their work exposed over a rainy night. Everything was soaked, including all the freshly installed wood. The next week, the completed new roof was tarred, but so sloppily it dripped down into the space — more weeks of scrubbing black tar off rough wood.
Pine Box will have 16 beers on tap, with most beers about $5. “The guy who installed the lines — we were prepared to go with 12 — he was like ‘oh, a box this size you can get 24 in there!’ Well, how about 16? We figured that was a good compromise.” There will also be a selection of canned beer for about $3-6. Cocktails should be around $5 and up.
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Though the Seattle transplants don’t plan a Pacific Northwest theme, Jeff admits it’s inevitable that his venture will have some backhome flavor. “There’s a brand of chips from out there, Tim’s Cascade chips, that I want to try to get. And KEXP, they’re a Seattle-based nonprofit radio station with a heavy online presence. They broadcast in NY, and they do things at Pianos in the city. We want to try to work with them on events here.”
“But no coffee?”
“No coffee.”
Look for Pine Box Rock Shop’s soft opening around July 1.
Mario Rizzo June 11th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Martinis to die for?!
GioNYC June 11th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
“They settled on Grattan Street after viewing a few other locations, including near their home off the Graham L stop. “But we didn’t want to be a nuisance — oh, another bar.” So they chose an area with no abundance of watering holes”
Oh stop fucking lying: You settled because your location was cheaper and away from the popular commercial district area of Graham ave. And it was cheaper too because its next to 2 shitty buildings to the left and right of you. It actually looks like the building on the left was abandoned due to drugs, rats, or a fire.
And P.S. Expect more graffiti coming your way.
sjp June 11th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Unnecessary douchebaggery directly above me.
SRS COMPETISH ON MRGTWN NOW
toby June 12th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Or perhaps they were fucking lying and wanted to open on that street due to their love of potatoes au GRATTAN? I have to hand it to GioNYC, that kind of froth over real estate concerns is hard to muster these days. Unless, of course, you were trying to sell them a space on Graham, then I could see where you might be a bit…er…assy about the whole thing.
Plazma June 13th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Good luck…will def. stop by to check it out. Slowly but surely this area is turning around…nobody can stop progress, not even a can of paint.
Brandon June 16th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
? As someone who lives a couple blocks East of here on Grattan Street, the comments above are just odd. The area around the Morgan L is way more gentrified than areas in Bushwick proper or arguably even Montrose and Grand stops. There’s already several bars in the neighborhood, for the record (BFP, Kings County, Wreck Room), not sure if Graham area has drastically more, but maybe they do.
I did meet the owners when walking by one night– seemed like nice folks, but actually unfamiliar with the neighborhood a bit, asking what other bars are around here that we go to– they must live elsewhere. Another bar is nice, but I’m mostly excited about finally having a music venue to stumble to truly closeby; there are plenty of DIY venues in Bushwick proper but oddly none in the EWburg Industial Park area, unless you head way up to Shea Stadium and “Bushwick” Music Studios. Will be handy, especially if they book some good bands.
Dylan July 3rd, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Looking forward to checking this place out and especially having some Tim’s Cascade chips. I know they are not going for too much of a Seattle theme, but it would be cool if they could manage to get a Seattle beer or two thrown into their mix. I’d love to get some Mac and Jack’s going on.