Mission Opens

February 14, 2003 Back in 1997, Shep wrote a seminal article titled Velvet Ropes on Avenue A that chronicled with no small amount of fear and loathing a landmark event: the first doorman establishment in Alphabet City. (Trivia buffs note that it stood on the site of the current Tapis Rouge, a lounge that, as we would have said back then, puts the ass in class.) Half a dozen years later, the ropes have come to the lower Bowery with Mission, a new bar/lounge/DJ space opening across the street from Pioneer at the intersection of Bowery and Rivington. Given the heritage of the owners (Orchard's B&T haven Rivertown Lounge, among others), we know the place is going to be cheesy and packed to the gills, even if in its nascent state it appears cool and chic. But a new low has been reached with the name, which echoes that of the Bowery Mission located just a few doors down. An upscale hipster club wryly mocking one of the city's oldest organizations for the homeless... Now that's chill.