East Village Favorite McSorley's Old Ale House Back Open for Business

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The Department of Health (DOH) temporarily closed McSorley's Old Ale House for rat activity last week, and as of Monday afternoon the iconic East Village bar is back open for business. The business posted the news of their reopening on its Facebook page, and the announcement got 1.6 thousand 'likes' as of Tuesday afternoon.

At around 4 p.m. Monday, owner Matthew Maher and a small group of patrons were outside McSorley's waiting to reopen the bar, according to EV Grieve.

Maher believes the rats came from reconstruction at Cooper Square and in the building's basement.

As well as rat activity, DOH said McSorley's was shut down for: "Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit."

McSorley's has been an East Village legend for the past 162 years. On Friday, the bar temporarily opened to hold a wedding reception for a couple who booked McSorley's a year in advance. The bride and the groom are diehard fans of McSorley's, so they still held their wedding reception at the bar, even though food and drinks weren't allowed to be served.

Many people expressed their joy that McSorley's reopened on the bar's Facebook page and on Twitter.