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“We’re included in everything, like holidays, we’ve always had invitations to their houses, it’s been very inclusive,” said bartender Lailah Lancing who’s been with Excelsior for four years. “We’ve had a fantastic staff who truly I consider more than employees, they’re family,” Nayden said. Nayden and Kennedy cultivated a familial vibe at their venue among their many regulars who have become close friends over the years, as well as their employees. There’s definitely a core of people that you feel are family.” “I still feel that way about what we have at Excelsior. “In 1999, people loved the fact they could engage and it was a family,” Nayden said. People want stuff instantly and then they move on.” Excelsior, 563 5th Avenue (Photo: Pamela Wong/Bklyner)īack when Excelsior debuted, people wanted a place to go to where they could feel part of a community. “The purpose of going out was to socially engage with other people and to meet people, as opposed to just meeting them online…. “I think that every bar has witnessed it, be they gay, straight or otherwise, that social media has definitely changed the way people interact or meet,” he said. Nayden notes that the nightlife industry has changed significantly since the late 90s.
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“We were written up in magazines all over the place. Time Out Magazine and The Village Voice included Excelsior in their best bars in NYC lists. “We had a fantastic reception,” Nayden recalled. The idea was that it was an extension of everybody’s living room.” Via Excelsior | Facebook “It didn’t matter if you were gay, straight. “We really wanted a place for everybody to be comfortable,” Nayden explained of their concept. The two had helped open other restaurants and bars including Carrie Nation, “the previous incarnation” of Ginger’s Bar at 363 5th Avenue. “There was a need.”īefore opening their own business, Nayden worked as a set and costume designer and Kennedy was in retail. “There was a substantial gay and lesbian population and there was a void in the market,” Nayden replied when asked why he and Kennedy selected Park Slope for their business. That was a big deal,” Nayden said of the outdoor space. Partners Mark Nayden and Richard Kennedy opened Excelsior in 1999 in a vacant storefront at 390 5th Avenue, in a 700-square-foot space with a large back garden. Excelsior, 563 5th Avenue (Photo: Pamela Wong/Bklyner) PARK SLOPE – After twenty years on 5th Avenue, neighborhood gay bar Excelsior will pour its last cocktail next Wednesday, July 31.