The Great Jones Cafe opened in June of 1983 when Great Jones Street was such a desolate, forgotten block that writer Don DeLillo chose the street as a “hide-out” for the rock star main character of his book “Great Jones Street”. Back then, bar regulars could tumble out onto the quiet, empty block for impromptu games of whiffle ball. Cars were left unattended (and unticketed) for weeks on end.
28 years later, the Bowery is bustling. Our little cafe has seen a lot of change. People who met at the bar on their first date now come back to eat with their kids. Every night someone will come in who has not been by in years and someone else will come in for the first time.
Great Jones Cafe remains the same. Where once it was an outpost in a no man land, it is now one of the last down to earth neighborhood joints in the “new” Bowery. Drop in and wet your whistle!
