Right around the beginning-to-mid November NYC starts to look like Jolly Old Saint Nick took over, and it can be hard to find a glimpse of Hanukkah blue amidst all the glaring the red and green. But on Monday, December 23rd, NYC’s very own Hanukkah-themed bar, Maccabee Bar, is making its return, and this year it has an entirely new home!
Maccabee Bar was started in 2018 by award-winning bartender Naomi Levy when she saw a huge gap in the holiday market. She started Maccabee Bar as a Boston-based pop-up, making it possible for visitors to celebrate Hanukkah and Jewish culture in a welcoming space–regardless of what holiday they grew up celebrating!
Naomi Levy had stated at the time:
I love Christmas and all of the Christmas bars that pop up this time of year. But I always felt like a tourist. There was never really anything for someone like me that wasn’t raised with Christmas.
Thus, Maccabee Bar popped up for the first time in NYC back in 2022 and has been popping up ever since, and this year the tradition continues.
Beginning the Monday of Hanukkah week through the Friday afterwards, the pop-up will fully transform Saint Tuesday in Tribeca into a Hanukkah-inspired wonderland, complete with festive decor, specialty cocktails, and traditional grub. Whether you grew up celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, or anything else, there’s fun to be had for all.
Past year’s favorite cocktails will be mixed up by bartenders such as the Latke Sour which combines apple brandy, potato, lemon, egg white, and Havana and Hyde bitters, and the Ocho Kandelikas, made with olive oil gin, honey, apricot, almond, and lemon, though there will also be brand new cocktails to try.
And the Hanukkah season would be nothing without all the delicious traditional bites, so of course there will be latkes as well as other small bites from the team at Saint Tuesday for all to enjoy.
Whether you come for the delicious bites or the festive cocktails–or if you’re anything like us, both–one thing’s for certain: this is the absolute perfect way to celebrate the wintertime festival of lights! More info can be found on Maccabee Bar’s website.
📍 Saint Tuesday – 24 Cortlandt Alley (inside the Walker Hotel Tribeca)
🗓 December 23rd, 2024 – January 4th, 2025