The Public broke ground on the $35 million renovation March 9, 2010, putting focus on a restoration of its original façade, expansion and updates to the main lobby, and a new centrally located box office.
Joe's Pub, which opened in 1998, will also get a facelift. The venue will go on hiatus beginning July 1 in order to allow for a reconfiguration of the seating plan, which will eliminate standing room, expand seating capacity and improve sightlines across the entire venue. The Pub is set to reopen Oct. 1 and will retain full bar and dinner service.
Patrons will also access Joe's Pub through a new entrance directly through the main lobby of the Public Theater. The Pub's current separate entrance directly on Lafayette Street will be closed.
Restroom and dressing-room improvements are also planned.
"The much loved look and feel of Joe's Pub will be kept intact with a few fresh details and tweaks and with the major change being the layout of the venue," said Joe’s Pub, LLC designer Serge Becker in a statement. "The theme is still an elegant modern cabaret space in a soaring neoclassical room." Click here to read about the Public's previously announced renovations to its downtown home.