Chumley's Is Back and Their Burger Might Be the Best In New York | GQ
Chumley’s has always been that quintessential neighborhood haunt, the type of bar budding writers and romantics dream of when they first move to New York City: dimly lit, no frills, cozy. It also happens to be the former watering hole for a murderer’s row of literary giants like F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and E. E. Cummings, just to name a few (the list really goes on and on).
A place like Chumley’s can’t help but live multiple lives. It was established by Leland Stanford Chumley as a prohibition-era speakeasy in 1922, a safe haven for thirsty social activists, outlaws, and misfits who flocked to the modest, signless building tucked away on Bedford Street in the West Village.
Over the years, however, it morphed into your standard dive bar. The drinks were cheap and the food forgettable. But it was still a reliable destination for a certain set, the kind that preferred charm and history over cocktail craftsmanship.
Then it all came crashing down. In 2007, a fireplace in the building next door toppled over causing substantial damage to Chumley’s interior. Of course, the immediate response was to rebuild. It took nine long, uncertain years for the new Chumley’s to get back into fighting shape