The 21 CLUB

The 21 CLUB

and Its Famous Jockeys

The restaurant and bar are on the first floor, and the two top floors are for private events. When you enter the restaurant you of course encounter the noisy bar, which is an essential part of the visit. The restaurant itself is paneled with reddish wood and has red carpets, red leather seats, dim lights. Even here – it’s very noisy. All around are Christmas wreaths decorated with gold and silver ribbons. On the walls are paintings by Frederic Remington depicting life in the Old American West in the late 19th century.

The male guests, usually aged 40-60, are dressed in good suits, usually with ties, and the women, of a similar age, are also dressed in their finest. There are New York businessmen here as well as wealthy people from all over the U.S. and the rest of the world. Jeans are absolutely taboo. A suit jacket is mandatory.

Famous speakeasy

The 21 Club is famous among other things for its low ceiling, from which toys and souvenirs hang: planes, cars, trucks, football helmets with the manufacturer’s logo. The waiters say that the company executives, athletes and other VIPs bring the toys and autographed memorabilia, as an ego trip.

FRANK SINATRA Arriving at The 21 CLUB

with JACKI "O"

Friend / Bodyguard JILLY RIZZO

and Un-Known Secret Service Agent

Can anyone bring a model or toy that will hang down from the air?

“No,” laughs the waiter, “it’s only if you’ve come here at least 100 times and you really are somebody.” When they take inventory they attest that the late President John F. Kennedy gave the 21 a small torpedo ship, and former President Bill Clinton gave them a model of Air Force One. The tennis rackets of John McEnroe and Chris Evert are here too.

The place opened in 1930 and became known as one of the most famous speakeasies selling liquor during the Prohibition Era, when the sale and consumption of liquor were forbidden. At the time there was a secret wine cellar where the liquor was hidden, and well-connected Americans imbibed the forbidden drinks there. One can find quite a number of such speakeasies all over New York, but 21 Club is one of the most famous.

The police and tax authorities raided the place from time to time, in order to seize the liquor and catch its drinkers in the act, but legend has it that there were hidden doors and hiding places that nobody could discover, through which it was possible to smuggle and hide the liquor.

Over the years the restaurant changed hands several times. Today, 21 Club is owned by Belmont, the boutique hotel chain. The truth is that this fact kills the restaurant’s sex appeal somewhat. Just imagine what would happen if a scion of the Bronfman family, who once had a liquor empire that began during Prohibition, owned the restaurant? But what can you do if they prefer doing something else?