Blue Smoke in Battery Park City to Close by Year’s End

Blue Smoke, the American South-themed barbecue restaurant started by Danny Meyers, is shuttering its last surviving Lower Manhattan location on December 21. Thirty-nine workers will be laid off, according to a WARN notice filed with the NYS Dept. of Labor.

The restaurant, which is located in one of the ground-floor retail spaces of the Conrad New York Downtown hotel in Battery Park City, has been open since 2012.

It’s a spinoff of the first Blue Smoke, which was located on East 27th St. and stayed open until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted its closure. In a commemorative post, the food blog Eater described the original as “Danny Meyer’s seminal Flatiron restaurant that helped lay the foundation for New York City’s barbecue renaissance.” It gets its name from Mike Mills, the restaurant’s former pitmaster, who reportedly once said that perfectly-sauced ribs will emanate “blue smoke.” Mills passed away in 2020.

The initial closure announcement for the BPC location was made over the summer. On August 28, the restaurant’s official Instagram account shared a post which clarified that “there are no immediate plans for a new location.”

“We remain hopeful for Blue Smoke’s future revival. In the coming months, we will remain open and will activate a series of events to celebrate the barbecue community, our teams, and you, our loyal guests,” the restaurant said.

Meyers is the founder and former CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group, an umbrella organization of NYC restaurants. He served in the latter role until 2022, when he adopted his current position as executive chairman. He began his career in the industry when he founded Union Square Café in the 1980s.

Outside of stewarding restaurants such as Blue Smoke and E. 20th St.’s Gramercy Tavern, Meyers and USHG famously founded Shake Shack, which has grown into a behemoth of NYC fast food.

There have been other USHG ventures in the Conrad’s other retail spaces, with a mixed record of success. One, the North End Grill, opened alongside Blue Smoke in 2012. It shuttered after six years. A Shake Shack location is still there, however.

As Crain’s New York Business points out, Blue Smoke has become something of a mainstay for Goldman Sachs employees over the years, alongside other offerings in the Conrad building. There is a covered passageway linking the hotel to Goldman’s headquarters at 200 West Street, and the strip of restaurants is reportedly referred to as “Goldman Alley” by some diners.

Many of the investment bank firm’s employees shifted to remote work over the pandemic, leading to a loss of some of Blue Smoke’s most regular patrons, Crain’s further reported; the restaurant cited the effects of this drop-off as a significant contributor of their closure decision.

Fans of the restaurant can still make the most of its remaining months. They provide catering, can book up to 35 people at parties, and have a dedicated Thanksgiving delivery service.