Bootleg Bar celebrated four years of serving cheap drinks in Bushwick with an all-night rager last Saturday. Neighborhood newbies and old friends alike cheered each other with tall boys of PBR and Evan Williams shots — a five-dollar combo that hasn’t changed since the bar opened in 2014.
Co-owners Bobby Rich and Marek Gregorski were at the bar, located at 1438 Myrtle Ave., to share memories that stretch back over a decade. Rich bartended the East River Bar that Gregorski owns in Williamsburg, and he also co-owns Tradesmen on Bushwick Avenue. The transition from employee to business partner worked out well for both; the two were all smiles as the rows of people around Bootleg’s bar got bigger and bigger on Saturday night.
MC Billy Burgess introduced bands while wearing a giant “Bootleg Fried Chicken” bucket inspired by the bar’s latest commercial: a spoof Greatest Hits compilation of oldies with the words “Bootleg Bar” in every song.
