A Community Awash in Posh Places and Dives Finds a New Sweet Spot
Lower Manhattan is inundated with taverns that target lawyers, bankers, tourists, and assorted other demographic slivers, but is lacking in watering holes that cater to Downtown denizens. This deficit may soon be cured, however, by Peck Slip Social, a new bar at the corner of Peck Slip and Front Street, which the founders describe as “a bar for locals, by locals.”
Peck Slip Social is the passion project of longtime Lower Manhattan residents Alex Davis and Learan Kahanov, who live across the street from one another in the Seaport neighborhood, and who are partners in both business and life. In their day jobs, Mr. Kahanov is a professional cinematographer (you may have seen his work on the acclaimed television series, “Madame Secretary,” which he shot for six years) and Ms. Davis – who still lives in the apartment she grew up in, a block from Peck Slip Social – is the middle school principal at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School, on Morris Street.
Their personal histories began to intertwine almost 20 years ago when their children (by other marriages) attended the Spruce Street School, in the Seaport neighborhood, “where I was the second PTA president,” recalls Mr. Kahanov, “and I was on the school leadership team,” says Ms. Davis. Mr. Kahanov eventually co-founded of the Taste of the Seaport school fundraising event in 2009, where Ms. Davis volunteered to serve as a bartender.
Slightly more than a decade ago, Mr. Kahanov’s wife died of metastatic breast cancer, caused by exposure to toxic debris released during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “Around eight years ago, Alex and I started spending more time together,” he remembers. “We had a weekly meetup at Dorlan’s Bar,” on Front Street. “We would have the conversation that many people have, about ‘if you weren’t doing what you do, what would you do?’ My answer was always that I’d be cooking or owning a bar. Eventually we realized that we both wanted to own a bar.”
“Around the end of the Covid lockdown, we were hanging out at another bar in the Seaport, which was flailing, and we heard the owner was looking to sell. So this went from a ‘what would you do’ and ‘what if’ conversation to a ‘let’s do it’ conversation.” Two years of negotiation got them close to buying the failing Seaport bar, but the deal never went through.
“The space we ended up in is much better,” says Ms. Davis, gesturing to the ceiling of the barroom. It’s divided by a wide, graceful arch that supports the shared wall of two buildings above, both of which are more than a century old. “Once we saw this space, the vision came to life,” she says.
Mr. Kahanov recalls, “demolition, which we did ourselves, took a week. My 81-year-old father ran circles around us, grinding down concrete that previous owner had poured into the base of the bar.” To thank the people who pitched in to help open the bar, the partners will be putting plaques with names on some of the chairs.
The organizing principle behind their plans, he says, “is that we love bourbon and rye, and we knew that the neighborhood didn’t offer much of a selection for either.”
“The selection is curated based on our experience and taste,” says Ms. Davis. “We focus on eclectic brands that retail in the range of $40 to $60 per bottle, so that when people find something they like on our list, they can realistically purchase the same thing for themselves at home. We want customers to discover things they enjoy, which enables us to recommend other bottles that complement those choices.”
“We want spirits with stories, “adds Mr. Kahanov, “instead of sitting here talking about flavor profiles and caramel notes with floral undertones. We talk about stories all the time, as in, ‘what is the story behind this label?’ Great Jones, for example, makes wonderful tasting bourbon and rye, but almost nobody realizes that this is the first distillery in Manhattan since before Prohibition, and still the only one.”
“We also offer flights of bourbon and rye,” says Ms. Davis. “One is called New York City Water, which is comprised entirely of local whiskeys that use municipal water in their products.”
The food menu is similarly eclectic. “As much as we love burgers and wings and quesadillas,” Mr. Kahanov says, “you can get those at four other places within a three black radius. Our plan was to do alternatives that nobody else does, and do them well, so that customers would want to come back for that.”
For this, Ms. Davis and Mr. Kahanov recruited chef Taylor Miller (a veteran of multiple restaurants launched by Jean-Georges Vongerichten) to create a “Mediter-Asian” menu that blends Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asian cuisines. The result is an ambitious potpourri that ranges from a salad blending tomatoes, Persian cucumbers under a za’atar vinaigrette to bites of Faroe Island salmon crusted in falafel to Filipino-style egg rolls.
“Everything is done with intent and a level of authenticity that people can feel, because we are implementing these ideas with passion,” Ms. Davis says. “This is meant to be welcoming space for locals, by locals. That’s why the pool table and board games are free for guests to use. That’s why we offer music, ranging from jazz to Americana on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with no cover charge.” A Sunday sing-along was just launched.
“At a time when it seems like everything in New York has become a full-on dive or a full-on posh destination, this is neither,” Mr. Kahanov says. “The best compliment we’ve received was, ‘this place just feels like it has been here forever.’”