The Closing of Spuyten Duyvil, and Everything You're Missing Out On When You Chase After Viral Restaurants

This past week, my friend and I made Thursday evening plans to go get a drink after work. In typical NYC Spring-weather fashion, the day started out lovely and quickly transitioned to a rainy, chilly evening by the time we were meeting. We didn't have a spot picked out and just decided to mosey along the streets of Williamsburg until we found something that tickled our fancy. There is something truly liberating about choosing a spot based on first sight, and something I think most people my age do rarely these days. Choosing a good bar in this way, is sort of like picking someone out of a crowd: you want the place to catch your eye without it being overly assuming.

And this is how we landed at Spuyten Duyvil*, a bar that's been on the border of Williamsburg and East Williamsburg for almost 21 years. When you look at Spuyten Duyvil, you wouldn't know if it was a bar, a cafe, or a restaurant: it has great red barrers on the outside and lots of curated knick knacks in the window. Its charm is in its mismatched wooden furniture, hand written chalkboard menu, dim lighting, and music that's played just loud enough where you can both hear yourself think and the person next to you speak. Clearly there was a European influence because both Grace and I remarked on how we felt like we were in a bar in Copenhagen or Amsterdam. And most importantly for this blog, is that they have a selection of relatively affordable beers and wines, a small cocktail menu, and a great charcuterie board selection where you can pick a couple cheeses and cured meats.

It didn't take very long for us to determine that we wanted to become regulars. When we got to chatting with the bar tender though, he shared that Spuyten Duyvil is actually closing this Sunday (April 21st). What truly dreadful news.

The owners determined that rent was going to be too high and service was slow - the fate many of New York's establishments face and have faced since 2020. We were shocked, however, that this place wasn't going to make it, especially because we felt like it fit that niche of places that could've blown up on social media. When we left, a bit distraught albeit very content with our evening, Grace summed up the situation perfectly: "if the right person had walked into this bar and made a reel, this place would’ve blown up: $15 charcuterie, great wine, and European vibes - what more do people want?"

The terrible conundrum of the influencer model is that it can both make and break local businesses, especially when it comes to small eateries in major cities. People depend on influencers for their recommendations of restaurants to know not only where to go, but also what to order, what to avoid, and how it ranks in comparison to hundreds of other spots in the city. And I don't absolve myself from this responsibility - I too have spent tens of hours googling search terms like: "the best, coziest, warmest, most delightful, tastiest bars in NYC" only to be overwhelmed by the options or disappointed with the results. Last Thursday night was so wonderful because we just let ourselves wander into a place we would have never otherwise found.

What’s really fascinating about this issue is that in a place like NYC, it’s not like there’s a shortage of restaurants. A while back, I saw a statistic that stated there are so many restaurants that it would take someone 27 years to dine at every place, if they were to eat every meal out. So why do we obsess over a handful of these that social media leads us to? 

I do understand the irony in this post as a self-identified food blogger. It’s part of the brand of a food influencer to blow-up by showing people “that new one spot you gotta try because it will blow your mind.” But that doesn’t mean that these restaurants are necessarily worth the time or the money to go. And let's not forget that there was a time before Google Maps and Yelp where you had to be your own food blogger and determine if the joint was good. Or maybe even more importantly, people may have been more loyal to their neighborhood spots, which in this case, seemed like it could have really helped Spuyten Duyvil.

Spuyten Duyvil's last day is on Sunday, April 21st so I recommend you check it out before it closes it's doors. And remember to tip your bar tenders well.

*PSA: If you're wondering what Spuyten Duyvil means, it translates to "Spouting Devil" in Dutch.