Inside Pete Davidson’s new NYC bar with a ‘secret entrance’ from Rock Center

Following a $280,000 investment into a Staten Island Ferry with fellow “Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost, Pete Davidson is now also dipping his hands into New York’s bar scene. 

Davidson, 28, joins a long list of celebrity investors behind the 19th century townhouse-turned-bar, including music producer Mark Ronson and actors Nicholas Braun, Justin Theroux and Jason Sudeikis.

Dubbed Pebble Bar, the new multilevel watering hole with a secret entrance via Rockefeller Center replaces a longtime pub so frequented by “SNL” cast members they often referred to it as “Studio 1-H.”

But Matt Kliegman, who is a partner investor in the space, told The Post he wanted the vibe to feel “residential” and “intimate,” despite its ritzy features and high-profile backers.

“I brought my kids to FAO Schwartz the other day and we came here,” Kliegman said of the bar, which opened officially on Feb. 28. “We are one block from Times Square. We are in the building where ‘Saturday Night Live’ films. There is a broad spectrum in and around this area and so I think this is a place that is able to appeal to everyone.”

A 19th-century townhouse once home to an Irish saloon that survived prohibition and construction of Rockefeller Center is getting a new life as a glamorous, multilevel bar.
Nicole Franzen

The transformation will take the historic holdout property — which once hosted the cherished Irish saloon Hurley’s — full circle.

“Hurley’s was long known for famed regulars like Johnny Carson, who had a personal back entrance, and novelist Jack Kerouac, whose writing on Hurley’s inspired the Pebble Bar name, David Letterman, who regularly filmed on-air on the third floor, and decades of ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast and staff, who dubbed the space ‘Studio 1-H,’” a press release stated. 

The second floor glass-and-brass bar overlooking Sixth Avenue.
The second floor glass-and-brass bar overlooking Sixth Avenue.
Nicole Franzen
A standing room area with dark stone tables on the second floor.
A standing room area with dark stone tables on the second floor.
Nicole Franzen

Located on 67 West 49th St., the second floor of the bar features a glass-and-brass backlit bar with seats that overlook Sixth Avenue.

There is a standing room area with dark stone tables and brass drink rails.

The third floor features a dark blue 35-seat dining room with brass table lamps, stone and wood tables, accompanied by a curved leather banquette. There is also an oyster bar and another third bar on the floor.

On the third floor is 35-seat dark blue dining room with stone and wood tables.
On the third floor is 35-seat dark blue dining room with stone and wood tables.
Nicole Franzen

Lastly, the fourth floor is reserved for an events space called Johnny’s that can host up to 50 guests. 

“Accessible only by elevator (and a “secret” entrance via Rockefeller Center), Johnny’s features an intimate corner bar overlooking Sixth Avenue” with “vintage chairs, stone coffee tables, and a classic black piano,” the release notes. 

The bar was designed by the founders of the renowned Gachot Studios, John and Christine Gachot, whose portfolio includes the newly opened Pendry Hotel at Manhattan West, Glossier in Soho and Marc Jacobs’ West Village townhouse. 

“Pebble Bar has a poetic presence: a historic townhouse that stands as testament to a time before Nelson Rockefeller leveled an entire neighborhood to build a deco metropolis,” Christine Gachot told The Post.

"Johnny’s,” is the fourth-floor event space that can host up to 50 guests and is accessible via a “secret” entrance in Rockefeller Center.
Johnny’s is the fourth-floor event space that can host up to 50 guests and is accessible via a “secret” entrance in Rockefeller Center.
Nicole Franzen
The tables feature brass lamps and a curved leather banquette.
The tables feature brass lamps and a curved leather banquette.
Nicole Franzen
Pebble Bar's steak tartare.
Pebble Bar’s steak tartare.
Max Flatow
Pebble Bar's limelight cocktail drink.
Pebble Bar’s limelight cocktail drink.
Max Flatow
Max Kliegman (far left) and the rest of the Pebble Bar team.
Matt Kliegman (far left) and the rest of the Pebble Bar team.
Max Flatow

“For all its history, New York is always in need of more classics,” Christine explained. “We hope Pebble bar becomes a regular spot for locals and a destination for visitors; a place that is for everybody, but one that hopefully becomes inextricable from NYC.”

Kliegman, who is the co-founder and CEO of Black Seed Bagels and who also owns the Smile; the Jane Ballroom; and Ray’s, a Lower East Side dive, explained that it took a bit to work out an agreement for the space, including the delay from the pandemic.

Construction on Pebble Bar began in February 2021, exactly a year from its opening.

Mark Ronson and Justin Theroux are also investors in Pebble Bar.
DJ and producer Mark Ronson and actor Justin Theroux are also investors in Pebble Bar.
Marc Piasecki

Meanwhile, the bar has already made waves.

Actor Robert Pattinson hosted a private party — the first at Pebble Bar — labeled an “after-after party” to celebrate the release of his movie “The Batman.”

But the playlist must not have been “Eazy” on the Davidson, who is currently dating Kim Kardashian, as it featured songs by West “practically on repeat,” Page Six previously reported.

investors include producer Mark Ronson, actors Nicholas Braun, Justin Theroux, and Jason Sudeikis, and SNL cast member and comedian Pete Davidson.
Other investors include actors Nicholas Braun and Jason Sudeikis, and “SNL” cast member and comedian Pete Davidson.
NBC

Sources claimed plenty of the rapper’s hits were playing, including “Gold Digger” and “Fade.”

“I heard a lot of Kanye. Not many people knew about this party, but most of the music being played was Kanye,” an insider revealed.

Pebble Bar is open from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Food menu includes bar snacks, a raw bar, and seafood mains. 

source: nypost.com