Restaurateur Zach Neil of the East Village’s Beetle House has a few new tricks up his sleeve.
Firstly he is opening a new tequila mezcal restaurant, Oscura NYC, at 247 Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side, which is slated to open this fall. The restaurant space is currently under construction and anticipates an October opening. The details are still being determined, however it hopes to offer tasting classes in addition to its regular restaurant bar atmosphere. But that’s not all from him. The nostalgic entrepreneur is also bringing his Blockbuster Bar pop-up concept, which first debuted in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue last fall, to New York. Its grand opening has not been determined yet.
Customers can get their 90s nostalgia fix walking through the mock Blockbuster store meets cocktail bar. Since 2019 there has only been a sole Blockbuster outpost in Bend, Oregon. Netflix released a documentary, The Last Blockbuster, in 2020 about Bend’s store and how the rise of streaming services came at the expense of the Blockbuster experience.
Customers can browse through the aisles of VHS tapes and take their pick up to the checkout counter to get their 90s and 00s movie-themed cocktails, from “Pretty Woman” to “Clueless” to “The Matrix.” It also offers classic movie snacks like popcorn and candy, as well as a soda fountain.
Neil is known for his popular pop-up turned permanent Tim Burton-style, Halloween-themed restaurant and nightclub, Beetle House, in the East Village. It also opened a second outpost in Los Angeles in 2017. Neil says that Beetle House will be coming to Chicago and Nashville this October. He is also prospecting in other cities.
