Jekyll & Hyde Club

Jekyll & Hyde Club
Restaurantinformation
Established	1991(1991)
Closed	June 2022(2022-06)
City	New York City
State	New York
Country	United States
Website	jekyllandhydeclub.com

TheJekyll & Hyde Clubwas atheme restaurantowned by Eerie World Entertainmentin the borough ofManhattaninNew York City.The name and theme derive from Scottish authorRobert Louis Stevenson's 1886 Victorian gothic novelStrange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Premise

The restaurant is modeled after a 1930sBritishexplorers clubembellished with spookyGothichorrorthemes, withVictoriandecorations, set pieces, and actors who roam the restaurant and entertain patrons.It has been compared to ahaunted houseandChuck E. Cheese's.

Cuisine includessalads,sandwiches,burgers,andpizzaas well asliquorandcocktails.

Characters include Mr. Aloysius Goole, the wacky chiefmortician;Jervis, the hyperactive and high-pitched Frenchbutler;charmingly manic Gertrude K. Boom, clubdemolitionsexpert; and clubspokespersonDr. Brain.These characters are the guest's link to all of the details of the club's history, and perform membership inductions table-side.

In addition to the live characters, there are a number ofanimatronicprops, sounds, andspecial effectswhich contribute to the overall atmosphere of the club.Theanimatronic creatures(eitherpre-recordedor voiced live by restaurant actors) animate periodically to entertain the guests and wishhappy birthdays.

FormerTimes Squarelocation pictured in 2013, which was demolished in 2015.

History

The Jekyll & Hyde Pub opened in 1991on 91 Seventh Avenue South inGreenwich Village.It is one floor tall. It was the only remaining location until June 2022 when it closed.

The cement sidewalk in front of the Pub claims its establishment in 1931; this can, however, be assumed to be a falsehood meant to represent the imaginarybackstoryof the restaurant.

Former 6th Avenue location

Sixth Avenue Location

Jekyll and Hyde also operated a larger location on theAvenue of the AmericasinMidtownbetween 57th and 58th street.This branch was four floors tall, much larger than the original Greenwich Village location.

Circa 2006, a New York Times columnistFrank Brunivisited the restaurant while it was "packed" and described his experience:

We all waited 15 minutes before getting in the door and registering with the host, cleverly dubbed a “scare traffic controller.” We waited another 35 minutes before being seated.

At the Jekyll and Hyde Club there are fake corpses strewn here and there, and therestroomsare behind trick walls made to look like bookshelves. The restaurant is amusing one moment, insufferable the next, much like its pint-sized patrons...

At our table, 15 minutes elapsed before a server bothered to deal with us. But during that delay, performers passed by. One was dressed in a manner that perhaps evoked avampire,or maybe amad scientist,or maybe just ahobo.I couldn’t quite tell. Following an obviously practiced script, he told Gavin and Bella that they weren’t nearly as annoying as he’d expected them to be. The remark puzzled them. Even little children know misguided humor when they hear it...

Bruni described the tomato sauce as "red-tinged water" and the burgers as overpriced theme park cuisine, although they werecooked as requested.

In March 2012, this branch closed and moved to 44th Street, near Times Square. This branch closed in March 2015.The Sixth Avenue façade continued to stand long after its closing, up to its demolition in 2015.

A 2019Eaterarticle praised thepoison-themedcocktailsand described the experience as, "akitschy,G-ratedhaunted house,but its longevity, and the popularity ofexperiences like it,comes from how it taps into our desire for [a] transformative experience. "

Bankruptcy

By August 2013, the restaurant owed $1.1 million in unpaid rent.By 2014, it was already identified as bankrupt.

In 2022, the restaurant filed for bankruptcy with $7.5 million owed to creditors and $1.5 million owed in back rent.This was partly caused by lack oftourismduring theCOVID-19 pandemic.The only remaining restaurant closed in June 2022.

In popular culture

In the 12th episode of the first season of 2005-2009 reality showThe Girls Next Door,Hugh Hefnerand girlfriends are shown having dinner at one of the Jekyll & Hyde restaurants. An entertainer portraying Dr. Mange is shown dancing to popular music such as Love Shack during the dinner service on Wednesdays.

The club was also featured in 2017 Netflix showFriends from College.

ActorJeff Hillersays he "was acostumed characterfor a while at the famous Manhattan Jekyll & Hyde Club. "The source does not indicate which location employed him.

In 2017, aNew York Timesarticle describedDanny McBride's visit, where he evaluated the performances of the restaurants' actors. McBride primarily engaged with and critiqued one performer who portrayed a mad scientist character named Dr. Ghoul.

Other locations

Jekyll & Hyde locations have been opened in Chicago andGrapevine, Texas(nearDFW Airport), but closed due to poor business and the high operating costs of the restaurant.

Deacon Brody Management Inc., also known as the Jekyll and Hyde Entertainment Group,also operate the nearby Slaughtered Lamb Pub on West 4th Street (based on the movieAmerican Werewolf in London), and the Bayville Adventure Park on Long Island.