Pussycat Lounge Gets a Makeover

Updated 8:18 AM EST, Thu, Jan 8, 2009

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While other dive bars bite the dust (Gael Greene reports that the old P&G Cafe; will be replaced by Cafe Amaranth with its "Eurotarts" and "sugar daddies", the Pussycat Lounge is gussying up.

As you can see here, the front door has just been restored to its former glory, and owner Robert Kremer, who last year came to an agreement with a developer who sought to replace the go-go dive with a hotel, tells us that's not all that's changing.

In addition to touching up his bar's wood- and brickwork (don't worry, the decrepit 116-year-old mahogany bar isn't going anywhere), he plans to start serving food there for the first time since Shogun closed after 9/11. He's bringing back Shogun's chef, Itako Oka, to serve what he describes as "Revolutionary [War]-type food -- pot roasts, hamburgers, a lot of smoked meats and fish"; (there's a smoker in the building). There may also be sushi.

All of this should come together for a grand opening on the bar's anniversary on Saint Patrick's Day. Which is all well and good, as long as he doesn't add an annoying strip-club D.J. ("Candy to the main stage!")

Previously on NYmag.com's Grub Street...