Third Avenue in Murray Hill fell a little quieter Monday after the unexpected closing of Abbey Tavern, a popular sports bar that first opened in the neighborhood six decades ago.
A manager who wouldn’t share his name told Realty Check the owners of the bar couldn’t reach an agreement on rent with landlord KSR, which owns numerous commercial properties in Manhattan.
The building above the corner venue at 354 Third Ave. at East 26th Street is a 40-unit apartment co-op.
Abbey Tavern, opened in 1963 as a casual bar-restaurant, featured 12 large-screen TVs and was a sports-viewing mecca. Regulars preparing to gather to watch Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame were stunned by the closure.
“We’re devastated,” said one customer, who declined to be named. “My wife and I came here to watch everything. Our home TV is like one-third the size of the ones here.”
When it first opened, the bar’s giant paintings of ocean liners and cozy, large booths delighted customers.
In 2004, it transitioned under different owners into venues called Vertigo and Manhattan Brewhouse before the original owners took it back in 2014.
They resurrected the old name but without the ships. Signs boasted of Monday-through-Friday happy hour discounts right up to the end.
Now the happy times are over.
KSR posted the availability of the 4,000 square-foot corner on its website.
It didn’t respond to our request for comment.