34 OCTOBER 2 0 1 9
Sweet Afton
30-09 34TH ST., ASTORIA
SWEETAFTONBAR.COM
@SWEETAFTONBAR
fall. If you’re located north of Astoria Boulevard,
you can find the brew at sister bar The
Bonnie as well.
Sweet Afton teamed up with Mikkeller
(the acclaimed, cutting-edge international
brewers have a taproom at their only NYC
spot, in Citi Field) on their limited-edition,
special recipe brew, and put it out to the
bar’s Instagram followers to name the beer.
After getting nearly 200 “pretty amazing
responses,” they chose “Time Afton Time.”
Mikkeller head brewer Richie Saunders,
who works at the Citi Field location,
describes the beer as “a bright and crisp
American-style lager, hopped exclusively
with Citra to provide a mild, but modern,
fruity twist.”
While you’re shooting the breeze and sampling
Sweet Afton’s well-known craft beer offerings
and honest cocktails, don’t forget to
order what has been described as the neighborhood's
best burger since 2009. That’s
when visionary owner and Ireland native
Ruairi Curtin first opened the doors to what
was considered a truly “new wave” bar, with
his savvy business partners (all young Irish immigrants)
— after opening popular Manhattan
bars Bua (East Village, 2004) and Wilfie & Nell
(West Village, 2008).
It was just what Astoria’s young creative
community was craving.
"In 10 years, the neighborhood has
changed immensely. When I moved to Astoria
20 years ago, I couldn't understand the
lack of nice bars and restaurants,” said Curtin,
who also owns The Bonnie (Astoria), as
well as The Penrose (Upper East Side), and
is co-owner of The Spaniard (West Village),
The Wren (Bowery), Bua and Wilfie & Nell.
“For myself and my friends who worked
in Manhattan and lived in Astoria, the options
of neighborhood bars were pretty
grim — not much beyond the dingy old
Irish bars that had been there for 30 years
or more — which are wonderful in their
own way, but not always what you were
looking for,” Curtain said. "The space was
originally a tobacco warehouse when the
building was first built; Sweet Afton is an
old Irish tobacco brand. We also love the
Robert Burns national poet of Scotland
angle too, though."
He added: “We’re proud to be one of
the very first more forward-thinking restaurants
and bars to demonstrate that Astoria
is more than just a sleepy, working-class
neighborhood across the river from Manhattan.”
To celebrate Sweet Afton’s success, Curtin
decided that a refreshing redesign was
in order.
“I firmly believe you’ve always got to be
reinventing yourself as a business. You
stand still, you die: it’s always important to
be relevant as the world changes around
you,” he said.
“But at the core, I don’t think Sweet Afton
has changed at all. Our original regulars
have grown up a bit, but essentially we are
the same Sweet Afton that opened 10 years
ago, with the same principles: great food,
great drinks and great staff in a friendly,
welcoming atmosphere."
Beloved, longtime bartender Stu Whalley,
who bravely battled lymphoma last year, was
back behind the bar during Sweet Afton’s anniversary
bash at the end of August. Thankfully,
he's in remission now, living in Forest Hills
and working at Silver Light Tavern in Brooklyn
(the new spot from Sweet Afton's original coowner
Mike Krawiec).
“It was very strange to be back at Afton after
almost two years — and two very intense
years at that — but great to see people I've
not seen in a while," Whalley said.
Back in the day, Sweet Afton was a real
trendsetter: the first of an exciting new wave
of modern, hipster bars in Astoria (without
TVs), where you could hang out with old and
new friends and drink cask ale and artisanal
cocktails, surrounded by the warmth of exposed
brick and reclaimed wood.
“Honestly, when my husband and I
moved to Astoria from San Francisco that
year 2009, Sweet Afton became our local
because it felt so much like the spots we
loved on the West Coast,” communications
manager Chelsea Morse recalled. “The
design refresh is really helping the space
grow up a little bit but stay true to its cozy
neighborhood vibe.”
Photos by Noah Feck
FMOIONDD ++ DBROIDNYK
/SWEETAFTONBAR.COM
