Just weeks after he changed the number last, Sasha Petraske has once again switched the reservations line at Milk & Honey, his Eldridge Street bar—and the single best drinking venue in New York City; fact, p-e-r-i-o-d, period. But, that's not the real problem. He has, as expected, decided to take the joint private. He blames the bloggers:
"When I opened Milk and Honey in January of 2000 it was not reservation only, and had no lock on the door. It was open to anyone who knew the address, and attracted a community of people with one thing in common: knowing how to drink and remain polite, to each other and the residents of Eldridge Street...
Now, however, with the advent of blogging, there is no chance for that to work. Since the number change of a few weeks ago, my staff actually report an increase in first time customers, who have evidently never heard that it was a quiet bar, merely that it was a trendy one...I am taking steps to convert Milk and Honey into a private social club."
For the record, while we have provided it to readers via email on a very few number of special occasions, Eater has never published the Milk & Honey number. As much as we love you, there are some risks, like getting banned from Milk & Honey, that are just not worth taking. Furthermore, people, bloggers. Stop publishing the number. If you're not going to use Milk & Honey with respect and care, then move your shit on to another bar in another city. If you take Milk & Honey from us, there will be hell to pay.
· Milk and Honey Keeps Out Philistines by Converting to Private Club [GS]
· Petraske File: Mercury Dime Bankrupting Soon-To-Be-Private Milk & Honey [~E~]For more stories from Eater, go to eater.com.
