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Ruby’s Bar has been a boardwalk stalwart in Coney Island, Brooklyn since 1934. This month, with the cultural tin-ear that always seems to go with too much cash, developers gave the owners two weeks to clear out. Saturday, November 13th might have been Ruby’s last day serving the real folks who have kept Coney Island alive through the worst of times—none of whom will be back when an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill, or some equivalent horror, opens in this spot next year. Grade “A” Fancy spent the afternoon blanketed in denial. The implausible film-set beauty of a sunshiny warm November day at the beach heightened the unreality. Being there, happy as you can only be on a barstool overlooking the ocean and in the company of fellow revelers made it even harder to believe the savage, ugly eviction. The dedication and extraordinary hard work of so many people over so many years has enabled Coney Island to survive rough times and bounce back heroically. It seems like an impossible task, but people become so enchanted with this place over and over again. Coney survived the scary 1970’s and then the closing of so many great spots, like the Hollywood Bar and the Philip’s Candy Shop in the moldy but atmospheric old Stillwell subway station, dripping with history, ghost signs and ghost shops. But just when things start to change for the better, the greedies smell money and you can guess who is out on their cans. Not just Ruby’s, but Cha-Cha’s, Paul’s Daughter, Shoot the Freak, Grill House, Gyro Corner, Beer Island, Pio Pio Riko and Coney Island Souvenir Shop. The proprietors of Ruby’s seemed slightly stunned on their second “last day,” as they settled into a numb, sad calm, happy to be pressed for more and more Brooklyn Lagers and vodka cranberries in between catching up with regulars and talking to endless wellwishers.
Grade “A” Fancy is published by
Karen McBurnie and
Jon Hammer until they run out of ice. © 2010
grade.A.fancymag@Gmail.com