One Year Later, What The Chic Cast Of Regulars Miss Most About Paul’s Baby Grand
It’s been just over a year since I last set foot in Paul’s Baby Grand — or so I’m informed by Instagram’s on-this-day-last-year alert. A whole year since we spilled martinis on ourselves while dancing on top of the couches; a year since we’ve watched the staff hang up the disco ball at 3am to the instrumental interlude of “Heart of Glass.” Though even that now seems like forever ago, I’ll always hold space in my heart for the bar that defined my 20s.
Weathering the pandemic in NYC without Paul’s — the beloved lounge by hitmaker Paul Sevigny — has been decidedly sobering. One might argue the world has more pressing crises, but isn’t that the point of nightlife? Or at least good nightlife, which offers community, or catharsis, for the troubles of the day. Paul’s, also known as Baby, is the perfect downtown rabbit hole to escape the world for a couple of hours — a 1,000-square foot tropical-printed oasis where you can reliably find a good time, someone you know, and a spare cigarette.