“KITSCH APPRECIATION at its Finest.”
Michael Stewart, the current operating owner, joined the bar as the doorman on opening weekend. He quickly transitioned to manager when Parker and Devitt were turning their focus to creating Barmacy down 14th Street. Over the years, he bought shares from investors that decided to sell their stake in the bar. Devitt is still a partner, but Parker is now focusing on her life upstate.
As gimmicks come and go, Beauty Bar’s unique, theatrical conceit has aged remarkably well through the decades. “It's like Green Acres come to life and staffed by the cast of McHale's Navy,” the erstwhile Village Voice nightlife columnist Michael Musto told the New York Times back in 1997. “It's kitsch appreciation at its finest.”
Meanwhile, in the early 2000s, it added an open-format “Blue Rinse Back Room” that doubles as a dance floor. It’s since become a coveted event space that’s hosted comedy nights, DJ sets, burlesque shows, New York Fashion Week after parties, and memorable performances.
Beauty Bar’s status as a bona fide downtown institution has likewise made it a popular stomping ground for the pretty young things cohort across the ages. At the height of the hipster era in the late aughts, it was a regular stomping ground for club-kid icons like the Misshapes. Fast forward to 2023: it aptly hosted the launch of media company Highsnobiety’s beauty vertical, complete with contemporary stars like TikTok model Noen Eubanks and Gossip Girl 2.0 star Evan Mock.
The Beauty Bar has hosted after parties for numerous bands, and have been the location for countless photoshoots and music videos, including The Roots' "Rising Up", as well as serving as the backdrop a Sex in the City episode "They Shoot Single People, Don't They".
Over the years, the success of Beauty Bar has prompted the opening of bars in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Dallas and Houston. The brand's national expansion speaks to its wide ranging appeal.
But for a glimpse into the past life of New York City, you’ll have to stop by the original and have a martini under its Liberace-esque chandeliers or dance the night away under the glow of a disco ball in the back cabaret.
You would be forgiven for thinking that Beauty Bar, the salon-turned-saloon, is much older than it actually is. Though it opened in 1995 in Manhattan’s East Village, the bar also retains some of the original furnishings from its past life as a salon, including barbershop chairs and helmet-style chrome dome hair dryers from the 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile, vintage perfumes, dating as early as the 1920s, and canisters of Aqua Net, the aerosol hair spray developed in the 60s, line the shelves.
Located at E 14th Street near Union Square, Beauty Bar was the brainchild of nightlife veteran Deb Parker and her business partner Paul Devitt. A Scarsdale native, Parker studied sculpture at the School of Visual Arts, where she befriended the likes of artists Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, frequenting iconic downtown clubs like CBGB and the Mudd Club.
Through the 80s and 90s, she worked as a dominatrix (briefly), promoter, bartender at numerous NYC bars and clubs, opening some of her own along the way. Notable in her resume were a series of now-shuttered, campy themed bars, including Alphabet City’s infant-themed Babyland, which featured kiddy furniture and cocktails sipped from sippy cups, and the nearby Barmacy, bar with a pharmacy theme set in a former pharmacy.
Paul Devitt was founder of the legendary Silk City diner, an eatery and music venue in Philadelphia. He found a vintage salon interior for sale while living in Philadelphia that inspired the concept of Beauty Bar. It later became the interior for the second Beauty Bar in San Francisco, as the NYC location came furnished.
With this proven knack for executing a theme, Parker and Devitt devised their most famous venue - Beauty Bar, as a space that allowed guests to get their nails done while enjoying cocktails. The front of the space still feels like an old-time salon (it was built into the former Thomas Beauty Salon), while the back opens up for events and congregating with drinks. Nearly three decades later, "Martinis and Manicures" remain a beloved staple at the venue.
