Bar of the Week: Beauty Bar

Attention, hipsters: You are a target market. And Paul Devitt of Beauty Bar is determined to sell you on his formula of the next-big-thing neighborhood plus kitschy, retro-beauty parlor decor. The newest and seventh installation in what Devitt likes to think of as his "anti-chain chain" opened recently on a dreary strip in Bushwick under the J/M tracks where the sun does not often shine. After 14 years on the more centrally located 14th street, the original Beauty Bar -- overrun with bachelorette parties and SATC-esque ladies nights out -- seems to have lost relevance with the hip young things he'd like to see coming around. So to give Beauty Bar's rep a bit of a makeover, Devitt figured if they wouldn't come to him, he'd just bring the bar to them. Thus was born Beauty Bar: Bushwick, where on a recent night two bartenders chose to forgo hairdressers' smocks for another kind of uniform altogether, sporting artfully disheveled hair and multiple tatts. Without the years-old patina of the Manhattan location, this place literally sparkles. Rainbow stripes of glittery paint running along the walls make you want to break out your white-trimmed track shorts, feather your hair (RIP Farrah), and lace up your skates. Beautician stations behind the bar have been restyled into a liquor shelf, while pastel vintage dryers converted into lamps hang from above. You can even take the gimmick to the next level with a $10 manicure-and-martini special. Just remember to take care on the dance floor -- you wouldn't want to muss up your newly polished look. Boogaloo Shampoo Thursdays feature Jonathan Toubin of New York Night Train spinning soulful 45s (special request the Jackson 5 -- RIP Michael) with other weeklies to come (could a Todd P sighting mean something's in the works?). On the cocktail end of things, hairdresser-themed libations ($8) including the Redhead (cherry vodka, raspberry liqueur, sweet & sour, and cranberry juice) and the Shampoo (rum, tequila, peach schnapps, sweet & sour) will soon be available. In the meantime, cheap well drinks ($5) and drafts of Six Point Sweet Action ($5) and Newcastle ($5) will do the trick. Sure, Beauty Bar may be trying awfully hard, but when it comes down to it, Devitt has hit the nail on its perfectly-coiffed head with this destination watering hole, saving locals (including the aforementioned hipsters) from drought.

Beauty Bar
921 Broadway
Bushwick, Brooklyn
(347) 529-0370