4/5 of the team that founded The Francis Kite Club: Laura Hanna, Laura Raicovich. John McEnerney and Alice McGillicuddy
Photo by Bob Krasner
The Francis Kite Club in Alphabet City is a relatively small space that houses a lot of ambition.
Created by Laura Hanna, Kyp Malone, John McEnerney, Alice McGillicuddy and Laura Raicovich, the bar at 40 Loisaida Ave. is a combo of uptown chic and downtown social club, with an ethos rooted in the spirit of community and the goal of becoming part of the neighborhood.
“There are so many places that, if you have enough money, you can buy out of the box, hire art directors and you have a nice bistro or whatever,” McEnerney muses. “The difference here is,” he laughs, “we didn’t have the money to do that.”
Hanna grins and notes that “a bunch of people creatively built it together. … John built the bar, Alice did the shellacking, our mothers worked on the space. … None of it was done by professional hospitality people. There are photos all around of everyone who worked on it.”
Their friend Nina Nichols is responsible for much of the decor, having designed the color scheme, painted the murals and even created some of the furniture. Nichols, who moved here from New Orleans a few years ago, wanted to bring some of that city’s “practice of building for the sake of joy” into the space.
“Francis Kite began as a space for mutual benefit,” she says. “It has become an open-ended venue that could host a neighbor’s birthday party or an art gala or a punk show. That is what we set out to do — to create infrastructure for wildness.”
The bar, also designed by McEnerney, was purposely structured to give off a flattering light and provide a mirror so that customers can see themselves looking good. After all, you can’t go wrong by appealing to narcissistic impulses in the selfie age.
Among other things, Alice wanted “to go to a bar where I can hear my friends.” Unless a band is rocking the…
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