“NYC Loses One of Its Biggest 3 am Fight Venues.”
This was according to a 2021 tweet by the username coach clancy Marking the official end of the 50-year-old McDonald’s at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West Third Street, which closed that year.
But earlier this month, the notoriously chaotic fast food location shook hands with the owner of the iconic comedy cellarNoam Dorman.
Dworman bought the building at 136 W. Third St. in Greenwich Village for $7.3 million, records show.
He told The Post about his plans to open a third comedy club in the city, with Comedy Cellar and Village Underground around the block.
It will be a very “similar vibe” to Comedy Cellar, he said, adding that it will be “a little more dramatic because we’re going to have a mezzanine there.”
Dworman explained how the stand-up comedy industry is more alive than ever and that they needed to find a way to solve the overflow problem.
“This property is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Dorman. “I’ve known it my whole life. It’s right across the entrance to the village. It’s right across the street from the subway, it’s freestanding. There’s no problem with tenants who need clubs or lines and things like that. That’s why I bought it keeping an eye-and-a-half towards the future of not only myself but also my children.
But Dworman will be taking over a site that has long been known to cause trouble.
Once known as an enter-at-your-risk emporium of fast food—with a history of brash fists and not a sober person in sight—this former McDonald’s was considered one of the most violent in the city, because Part of its space is surrounded by bars and their belligerent patrons. Due to the bad recipe involved, it was also open all 24 hours a day.
At the time the company announced its closure, many people took to social media to comment on its history.
“You could get a McChicken or a McBeating,” a person Took a pinch
“Oh sh*t…the first McDonald’s that needed an armed guard,” another wrote,
Another said, “It just sends chills down my spine, that place should have survived the apocalypse.”
In addition to drama, and on the silver screen, this McDonald’s was also known as the site for the iconic “Big Daddy” scene, when Adam Sandler shouted, “Will someone give this kid a Happy Meal?”
However, Dworman said that the past will remain in the past.
“Whatever was there before won’t affect us,” Dorman said. “People can’t get in without buying tickets.”
“I hope to make a real positive pivot to the road because it was kind of a nasty corner.”
Dworman expects his club to open in a year and a half. But if he had his way, it would soon open up.
“If it was in, you know, Texas, I’d probably estimate like six months, but New York, I think a year and a half would be pretty quick.
“We’re just we’re very excited. I think it’s going to be … a really cool change for this road,” Dorman said. “We’re really going to make this, hopefully, the best Comedy Club has ever been. That’s our plan.
The Comedy Cellar, located at 117 McDougall St., is often considered the best comedy club in the United States.
Notable comedians who have graced its stage have gone on to become legends, such as Jon Stewart, louis ckDave Chappelle, Dave Ettel, Kevin Hart, Jim Norton, Jeff Ross, Mitch Fettel, Darrell Hammond, Rich Vos, Aziz Ansari and Artie Lange.
Much of Jerry Seinfeld’s 2002 documentary “Comedians” was filmed at the club.
Asked about the name of the new venue, Doorman said he was considering naming it after his father, Manny, who died in 2004 and started the Comedy Cellar.
Doorman said high-profile comedians were slow to perform at his other lesser-known clubs, but have slowly begun to pile up — and he hopes the same will happen with this new one.
“It’s hard to fathom and understand that it happened slowly and gradually over so many years,” Doorman said of the breakthrough.
“People say all these wonderful things about The Comedy Cellar, and to some extent, I realize they must be true. But you know, from my perspective, I’m just running my little business like I always have.” Happens and sweats over little things, like the food arriving on time and heating up properly and things like that.