The “Lark Tavern”

By on January 6, 2012 in Food & Beverages

AOA has an article up today about the new “Lark Tavern”. They’ve got a good amount of shots of the inside and and the rundown about the new owners and their plans for the new space.

Read the whole article here: http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/01/05/lark-tavern-reopens

photo from mike roach

Few highlights from their comments section:

  • Nothing says “I love and respect Albany’s history” like decorating with NYC subway tiles.
  • After the fire and the fiasco afterward, I could never support any establishment associated with Mike DiNapoli, including the new Lark Tavern. I feel many others feel the same way.
  • A round corner booth? What is this? Denny’s?
  • Meh, not a fan. It’s not the Lark Tavern that I grew to love over the years. I can respect the changes and the modern look they’re trying to achieve but half the main reason why it was such a staple when Tess ran it was because it was one of the few remaining bars that had that “vintage Albany” feel to it. It had character and a personality all on its own which made it stand out from other places. This is a far cry from that and looks like Pearl St. threw up inside.
  • Dinapoli lost my business in multiple ways. Good luck on lark with this monkey on your back.
  • This could be a bar in any city.
  • it looks like a fancier version of an Applebees or some other sports bar. 11 flat screen TVs?
  • TVs are a deal breaker for me. Thanks, but if I wanted wall-to-wall LCDs blaring sports contests, there’s the Recovery Room.

Head over to their article and chime in if you have any opinions.

About andrew

Andrew started Keep Albany Boring in September 2010.
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  • http://www.facebook.com/david.white David White

    Bring back Franks Living Room

  • Anonymous

    I can’t just find fault with DiNapoli here, but also the new owners. They can act timid and neutral as they like, but calling it “The Lark Tavern” is such a crass and childish maneuver that I can’t envision myself ever going.

    • http://keepalbanyboring.com andrew

      “would you rather it be empty” defense is such bullshit too. there’s loads of empty spots in the immediate vicinity. if they wanted to be in that location they couldn’t have used any of those spaces. and then guess what, you’d have ANOTHER spot to go, rather than just a replacement one, with the original still un-fucked with.

    • rebecca

      you do realize it’s been called “the lark tavern” since 1933, right? long before tess.

      • http://keepalbanyboring.com andrew

        Yep, but it’s not the Lark Tavern I came to know.

        • St1151

          I can’t believe that this conversation of whether the Lark Tavern is worth patronizing, or not, has digressed to a statement of “well I was there when Tess owned it, so…”. This is a whole new level of douchebaggery from AOA and KAB chicken hawk scenesters that comment on every business without having the stones to step up and do something real themselves. These people are  pension pig, lame ass state workers for the most part. And no, operating a blog from the platform of a few drinking buddies does NOTcount as a business. I feel sorry for the young couple that had the courage to truly invest in the neighborhood. You people suck.

          • http://keepalbanyboring.com andrew

            Did you miss the whole part when Tess got fucked out of her lease? I’m not sure how not patronizing a business that I disagree with their formation is “douchebaggery”. No one held a gun to their head and forced them to invest in “the neighborhood”. No one is forcing me, or you to go there either. It’s a fucking bar.

  • Zachary

    I mean, the lark died with dean, Its back, but shit, Lark still is dead. What Really is the LT going to do for lark? The old bathroom looked like a spaceship (cool) but really, its not that big of an event.

  • Sue L

    Enjoy Lark Street but do not go to Lark Tavern. Not only are they overpriced, but their food was (to put it nicely) disappointing. The beer tasted odd… as if the cups had been “cleaned” in dirty water. The bathrooms were disgusting. Only one stall actually worked (and apparently it is BYOToiletpaper) The stall wall also had a light smattering of what appeared to be boogers. The clientele is a lovely misture of creepy old men and creepy older men, and the best part of this lovely gem was that as we were patronizing this establishment the owner called and had our car towed from their parking lot. When we asked for information about where we were towed he said, “I’ll get that for you.” He then walked into the kitchen and hid out there for the next hour without providing the information. I suppose I shouldn’t be suprised at this considering what I’ve read about how the current owners essentially hijacked the space from the previous owner after a fire. So then I had to go to the worst neighborhood in Albany and pay $165 to get my car back from the junkyard where it was towed. The towtruck driver, who left big grease handprints on the interior of my Audi told me that Ryan, the Lark Tavern owner tows his customers all the time. I suspect he is cahoots with them. Afterall, I did spend more getting my car back than I spent on food and drinks. Perhaps Ryan should pay better attention the the cleanliness of his establishment and poor quality of his product than who he can tow.