blue lady

The bar business is in Lou Anolfo’s blood. His grandfather, when he arrived in Brooklyn from Italy, opened a bar. His father worked at bars in the area several decades ago. When his son told him he wanted to open a bar, his first response was “I don’t like it.” He remembers the gangster types and bookies that would haunt the local establishments. “I carried a baseball bat around sometimes,” he said.

However, Williamsburg has changed dramatically since then, and the Blue Lady is just another link in the chain. Opened in late September, it sits on Metropolitan Ave. just down the block from the Graham Ave. stop. A conglomeration of juxtaposed colors and styles, it is a symbol of the neighborhood itself.

With a polished wood bar shaped like a “J” and muted-orangish walls greeting visitors upon entrance, the bar quickly shifts to a skylighted “café” with metal chairs and tables and geometric colorful designs on the walls, to a back “den” area with comfy couches. Then there’s a patio – with one wall of graffiti – that will open come spring.

“I mixed it up, but also made it blend,” said Anolfo. “Just like the neighborhood.” If there’s anyone who knows the neighborhood, it is Anolfo, who has lived here his whole life. And so has his parents. And so has his grandparents. “The changes in the neighborhood are great,” he said. “There’s more opportunity now, and the new mix of people offers a lot more variety. I’m working with local artists now and other businesses. I want to work with the neighborhood.”

There are local artists’ works hanging in the bar, and he hopes to have openings here as well. There are also several more ideas in the works, such as jazz nights, chess tournaments, and indie films in the back.

The building itself dates from around 1900 and its original incarnation was – a bar. Named Spizio’s, it was in business for almost 40 years before it shut down. Spizio used to offer boat rides at night for patrons on the East River, until one capsized in the 1940’s. Then followed some other bars, until the building went dormant about 22 years ago. “My father had bought it about 24 years ago,” Anolfo said, “and after the last bar closed, we used it for storage basically.”

But it wasn’t always dormant, according to some people. “Neighbors over the years have said they’ve seen a ghost, a woman in a blue dress, walk past the windows. I’ve never seen it, nor has my father [who debunks the whole idea], but I figured I’d name the bar after her.”

Whether he is trying to keep the lady happy or not, Anolfo is worried about keeping his patrons happy. Everyone is welcome here, from the older neighborhood-types to the younger artists moving in. “I want everyone that comes here to find something they like about it. Even the bar is shaped that way so people can talk across it to each other. I just wanted a comfortable place.”