MurphGuide.com - And Then What Happened

"They were worried that rowdy people would be making noise in the wee hours of the morning, which is what places have over on West 4th. I don't want that over here either. And we won't have it here," said Brodrick. He also said it was much easier to obtain the support they needed once they bargained for a beer and wine license rather than full liquor. "I'm elated and exhausted. I think it's going to be ok now," he said.

Patrons practically dance into the bar and pat Brodrick's shoulder on their way in. "Great to see you're open," they say. With beer, is what they mean.

The Tigerites, as Blind Tiger's loyal customers are called, are a breed all their own. Filling the bar from corner to corner on a rainy March afternoon, the crowd of about 98% men pack the dim room with laughter, conversation, and palpable excitement.

"I just got here and I don't care how crowded it gets. I'm not leaving," said George Fuhrman, a plumber for the city, and loyal Tigerite.

"Blind Tiger is all about the people," Dave Rodriguez, 35, said. "It might initially be about the beer, but the people are the key to this place."
The two men talk about being in exile while the Tiger was without beer, and
how they managed to stave off depression in the "Superdome"
(Collins Bar, on 8th Ave, also owned in part by Blind Tiger's owners) as long as they were surrounded by their fellow displaced Tigerites.

Co-owner Alan Jestice had told reporters he was confident "the Tiger will roar again," and his steadfast supporters are howling with enthusiasm.

"I am just so happy," said a patron, too giddy to calm down enough to give his name. "I needed it. What better place is there than this? I found other places to fill time, but nothing is like the Blind Tiger."

From the shining looks upon the surrounding red-cheeked faces, the sentiment is a shared one. Brodrick relaxes in a bench along the back of the rustic, heavy wood-paneled room. To his right sits Steve Hindy, the founder and owner of Brooklyn Brewery.
"This is the best bar in the city," said Hindy, rapping his knuckles on the wooden table. "They know good beer, and they care about it."