For Fifth Avenue, a Classic Saloon

These days, New York is all about niche bars—wine bars, craft beer bars, creative cocktail bars staffed by expert “mixologists.”

But whatever happened to the good ol’ saloon? A place you can count on for a decent beer or a correctly made gin and tonic, perhaps along with some friendly chitchat with your bartender.

That’s exactly the question that led Sylvia Holden to open Mary’s Bar, an old-style saloon set to open early next month on Fifth Avenue and 22nd Street.

“We’re not going to be a mixologist-driven bar, and we’re not going to be a beer-driven bar. We’re going to be a friendly approachable bar where everyone knows what’s on menu,” she said.

“But we’ll still have some unusual high end things,” she added.

Holden will open the bar with her partner and two others she met while working at Bar Toto on Sixth Avenue.

The location itself has continuously been a bar for well over a hundred years. Holden and company are now in the process of stripping the bar down to its bar bones, exposing the tin ceilings, original flooring and more.

The bar will also eventually offer up food (one of the owners is a trained chef), and on weekdays, even a free lunch.

“Often people come into a bar and they don’t know what to order. We want to be the kind of place where you can bring you grandma and she’ll know what to order,” said Holden. “It’s not a geeky place.”