Public Records (venue)
{{Short description|Music venue and eatery in Gowanus, Brooklyn}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| image = The Westerlies at Public Records, June 2025.jpg
| image_alt = A brass quartet performs in a circle surrounded by audience members
| image_caption = The Westerlies at Public Records in 2025
| address = 233 Butler Street
| city = Gowanus, Brooklyn, New York 11211
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|40|55.95|N|73|59|11.11|W|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:US-NY}}
| owner = {{plainlist|
- Erik VanderWal
- Francis Harris
- Shane Davis}}
| type = Music venue, listening room, bar, café, and store
| opened = April 2019
| expanded = December 2022
| website = {{URL|https://publicrecords.nyc/}}
}}
Public Records is a music venue, bar, and eatery in Gowanus, Brooklyn. By day, the space serves as a vegan café and wine bar; by night, it features a nightclub and performance complex. The venue is known for eclectic programming, with a focus on electronic music.
History
Public Records was founded by hospitality director Erik VanderWal, musician Francis Harris and designer Shane Davis.{{Cite web |last=Cogley |first=Bridget |date=2019-10-04 |title=Public Records in historic Brooklyn building pairs vegan cafe with nightclub |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/04/public-records-brooklyn-vegan-cafe-nightclub/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Dezeen |language=en}} It opened in April 2019, part of a wave of adaptive reuse projects in the historically industrial Gowanus neighborhood.{{Cite web |last=Kircher |first=Madison Malone |date=2019-08-20 |title=Inside Brooklyn’s Newest Day-to-Night Vegan Music Venue |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/inside-public-records-brooklyns-newest-vegan-music-venue.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Vulture |language=en}} The property's second floor was occupied by the guitar repairer and supplier Retrofret until 2022, at which point Public Records took over the space and opened the Upstairs Lounge.{{Cite web |last=Dorris |first=Jesse |date=2022-12-15 |title=Inside Upstairs, a High-Concept Lounge from Public Records |url=https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/public-records-upstairs-lounge/# |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=SURFACE |language=en-US}} In 2024, the venue's founders created the Public Service agency to consult with developers on design-centric hospitality projects.{{Cite web |last=Dreith |first=Ben |date=2024-05-30 |title=Public Records puts on exhibition to launch design service in New York |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2024/05/30/public-records-nycxdesign-event/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Dezeen |language=en}}
In 2020, Esquire named Public Records one of the 27 "best bars in America," noting the quality of the establishment's sound systems and cohesive sense of flow.{{Cite web |date=2020-07-14 |title=Esquire's Best Bars in America, 2020 |url=https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/bars/a32617871/best-bars-america-2020/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}} The actresses Abbi Jacobson and Jodi Balfour were married at Public Records in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Zhang |first=Cat |date=2024-06-06 |title=Abbi Jacobson Got Married in Off-the-Rack The Row |url=https://www.thecut.com/article/abbi-jacobson-and-jodi-balfour-got-married-in-brooklyn.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=The Cut |language=en}}
Facilities
Located at 233 Butler Street, Public Records covers {{convert|6,000|sqft|m2}} in a 1910s-era building formerly used as an ASPCA office and animal shelter.{{Cite web |last=Tucker |first=Emma |date=2019-05-09 |title=A former animal sanctuary becomes a music space in Brooklyn |url=https://thespaces.com/a-former-animal-sanctuary-becomes-a-music-space-in-brooklyn/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=The Spaces |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Madlener |first=Adrian |date=2023-09-28 |title=Beloved Brooklyn music venue Public Records taps local firm Mattaforma to join forces on The Nursery, a performance space and ecological intervention |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2023/09/brooklyn-music-venue-public-records-mattaforma-nursery-performance-space-ecological-intervention/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=The Architect’s Newspaper |language=en-US}} The Sound Room, the central performance area hosting both live music and DJ sets, is a minimalist space featuring perforated plywood acoustic panels, with capacity for up to 200 attendees. The room's sound system has been widely praised for its clarity and high fidelity.{{Cite web |last=Yglesias |first=Ana |date=2025-01-29 |title=Inside 5 of New York City’s best hi-fi bars: Where they are and why they sound so good |url=https://musictech.com/features/interviews/inside-5-of-nyc-best-hi-fi-bars-suono-all-blues-nowadays-public-records-nightmoves/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=MusicTech |language=en-GB}} Genres featured have included avant-garde jazz and experimental music.{{Cite web |last=Mejia |first=Paula |date=2019-04-11 |title=Photos: Inside Gowanus's Experimental Venue Public Records |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/photos-inside-gowanuss-experimental-venue-public-records |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Gothamist |language=en}}
The Upstairs Lounge, an intimate cocktail bar and listening space, was designed by Studio Kos and engineered by Arup Group. The property's former parking lot was converted into the Nursery, an indoor-outdoor dining space and dance floor featuring a modular DJ booth. Davis told Fast Company the Nursery is "temporal; something that could be disassembled," assembled using timber and polycarbonate shipping containers.{{Cite news |last=Basu |first=Ritupriya |date=2024-07-23 |title=This greenhouse-meets-dance-club is designed to be disassembled |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91128482/public-records-innovation-by-design-2024 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241007221441/https://www.fastcompany.com/91128482/public-records-innovation-by-design-2024 |archive-date=2024-10-07 |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=Fast Company |language=en-US}}
The Atrium restaurant centers vegan cuisine, with a menu designed by former Little Pine executive chef Lou Oates.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=The Atrium at Public Records Welcomes Chef Lou Oates and a Bold Plant-Based Menu |url=https://vegoutmag.com/news/the-atrium-at-public-records/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=VegOut |language=en-US}} Per Time Out New York, the restaurant's "innovative dishes," including Spanish fried rice, deconstructed vegan pastrami, and fermented bok choy, "still feel a touch overpriced."{{Cite news |last=Orlow |first=Emma |date=2019-12-06 |title=Public Records, a music-restaurant hybrid, offers inventive vegan bites |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/bars/public-records |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=Time Out New York}} Visitors can purchase records and zines at the adjoining Café Public, which serves coffee, pastries, and sandwiches.{{Cite web |last=Eede |first=Christian |date=2019-10-16 |title=New York hi-fi bar Public Records opens record store |url=https://djmag.com/news/new-york-hi-fi-bar-public-records-opens-record-store |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=DJ Mag |language=en}}