West Village's Historic White Horse Tavern Has New Owner

WEST VILLAGE — The nearly 140-year-old, iconic West Village bar White Horse Tavern is being taken over by a well-known restaurateur. Eytan Sugarman, who co-owns a Midtown steakhouse with ousted White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, will take over the famed watering hole, a spokesman for Sugarman confirmed.

The building it's housed in is also about to get a new owner – potentially the notorious landlord Steve Croman.

"The goal is to maintain the history and preserve the legacy," the spokesperson said, emphasizing Sugarman grew up knowing about the White Horse Tavern and respects its history.

He "wants to maintain that," the spokesman said.

Scaramucci, who co-owns Hunt & Fish Club with Sugarman and was a short-lived communications director for Trump, is not involved in the new bar ownership, the spokesman said.

Sugarman signed a 15-year lease for the space, though it's unclear how much the bar's rent will be. Infrastructure updates are expected, though plans have not been announced.

The building itself is also reportedly being sold.

Rumors circulated on Wednesday that the building itself, at 567 Hudson St., was being sold to notorious landlord Croman, who spent time on Rikers Island for tax fraud and is known for allegedly pushing out and harassing rent-regulated tenants.

On Thursday, Commercial Observer reported that Croman, of Croman Real Estate and 9300 Realty Management, is one of six potential buyers. A spokesman for Croman declined to comment.

The Observer reported the sale, whose official buyer remains unknown, includes the bar, two retail spaces, and 17 apartments — 15 of which are rent-stabilized.

The building is selling for $14 million and the sale is expected to close next month, the Observer reported.

White Horse Tavern, known for its literary regulars including Dylan Thomas and Jack Kerouac, will keeps its name, according to Sugarman's spokesman.

Next Thurs., March 14, the bar's new ownership will present to Community Board 2's liquor licensing committee at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be located at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 151-155 Sullivan St., in the lower hall.

Sugarman also owns a pizza shop on the Upper West Side, Made in New York Pizza — which Eater called a knock-off of SoHo's Prince Street Pizza, where Sugarman's chef previously worked.

He also owns a barbecue restaurant Southern Hospitality, which received some pushback for hosting a fundraiser for Republication Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York where, reportedly, Steve Bannon attended, and is known for previously being co-owned by Justin Timberlake a decade ago, Vanity Fair reported in late 2017.

The White Horse Tavern's previous owners, Eddie Brennan and James Munson, could not be reached.