Grand Republic Cocktail Club (19 Greenpoint Avenue) quickly and quietly closed as of today. Locals have been in our DMs speculating as to the status of the bar and whether or not it was permanently closed or just renovating. Now, the team behind Grand Republic has officially revealed to Greenpointers that they have sold the space.
It looks like the team has deleted their Instagram account and website, so we don’t have too many additional details about what happened.
Unfortunately, Grand Republic’s owner, Johnny Swet, had been dealing with long-term health issues (we highlighted his GoFundMe campaign earlier this year).
A history post from 2018 highlights the story behind the bar’s name, inspired by a boat built at a local shipyard in 1878: “The Grand Republic was for many years the pride of Brooklyn and it served as an elegant excursion boat, taking hundreds of passengers on day trips to the Rockaways and other locations, but its reputation was blackened when an infamous accident befell its sister ship.”
While it might be the end of the road for boat and bar alike, we’re wishing better luck and smoother sailing for the team behind Grand Republic Cocktail Club.
I believe the location of the Grand Republic (19 Greenpoint Avenue) was the former childhood home or business location of Peter Criss’ family (Kiss drummer) business/residence?
I believe it was, any comments –