Building sold, no lease renewal for Mahar’s

By on January 1, 2013 in Food & Beverages

mahars

Randy just sent over a link to a post on his blog with some bad news.

I introduced myself and thanked him for establishing a terrific joint. He said I should enjoy it while I can–he was informed this morning that he’d lost the lease. Mahar’s (Albany) will only be open for a couple more weeks. The space will be rented (has been sold?) to the folks that run Junior’s, The Point and Madison Cafe.

This absolutely sucks. Mahar’s is one of the very few establishments we have here in Albany that’s in a league of it’s own. It’s the best spot hands down to try hard-to-find, rarely stocked beer in this city, and it’s a favorite establishment for among beer aficionados far and wide.

Do we really need yet another Junior’s/Madison Cafe/The Point owned establishment on that same block at the expense of a landmark? Randy calls for a start a campaign to save this neighborhood treasure and I can’t help but agree. I hope they simply move instead of close.

About andrew

Andrew started Keep Albany Boring in September 2010.
View all posts by andrew →
  • http://twitter.com/Chad9976 Chad’z Adventures

    yeah it sucks. I hope they can find another location in midtown. Downtown is already saturated as far as good beer places go. Hell, why not skip Albany altogether and move to Schenectady? though there’s the Bier Abbey and the Van Dyck, there’s no craft beer PUB there. I’d move to Schenectady if there was a Mahar’s there.

  • zach

    That is too bad it was a great spot.

  • Mug 12431

    Jim didn’t “lose” his lease. He hasn’t had a lease for quite a while. He was basically hoping and praying the elderly woman who owned the building didn’t die, leave the building to her estate and have them promptly sell it. How’s that for a business strategy, because that is exactly what happened – as every regular patron saw coming for years.

    Mahar’s Albany is over. The building’s been sold and needs extensive renovations just to be brought up to Code, so it was going to be closed for many months while it was gutted. Jim doesn’t have two nickels to rub together and wouldn’t have been able to afford to outfit a new bar or the market level rent that would come with a newly renovated building.

    Mahar’s has been on life support for years. Why save a business whose owner has put so little effort into saving himself? I grabbed my mug last week and took it home. It was kind of sad. But Mahar’s mystic was the people, not the dwindling beer selection or dingy, shabby appearance. The people aren’t going anywhere and will find a new place to reconvene. Life goes on…