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New Yorkers walking around Union Square have been forced to stare at the empty store front that was once home to the beloved Blue Water Grill restaurant since 2019.
Things are finally about to change, though: State of Play Hospitality just announced that it has signed a lease to take over the landmarked building at 31 Union Square West to open Flight Club, a social darts bar that already operates locations in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston and Las Vegas. The destination will officially debut in late 2025.
First founded in London back in 2015, Flight Club focuses on the game of social darts, which is basically the company's techie take on the traditional darts game. You'll get to play while sipping on craft cocktails and munching on some bar food. Sounds like an epic New York night if you ask us.
"We’ve been looking for the right real estate opportunity to land Flight Club in New York for over five years, and this site has the potential to be a genuine landmark for the city and the group," said Toby Harris, CEO of State of Play Hospitality, in an official statement. "Both 31 Union Square as a building and the stunning split level Flight Club space are as close to the physical brief for the brand that we could wish for. It’s exciting and humbling to be opening our North American Flight Club flagship at such a legendary location and I’m confident that, by complementing and retaining the character of the building, we will be able to do it justice."
The history of the address shouldn't be lost on anyone.
The 10,700-square-foot structure was building back in 1902 by the Bank of Metropolis as their own headquarters. It became a designated landmark in 1988 and has been home to the nightclub Zippers, the high-end restaurant and basement club Metropolis and, of course, Blue Water Grill, which opened back in 1996 and closed over two decades later (that's saying a lot in a city like New York!)
We can only hope that the new owners will do the building justice.