One Year Later, What The Chic Cast Of Regulars Miss Most About Paul’s Baby Grand

by Dan Q. Dao · March 24, 2021

It’s been just over a year since I last set foot in Paul’s Baby Grand — or so I’m informed by Instagram’s on-this-day-last-year alert. A whole year since we spilled martinis on ourselves while dancing on top of the couches; a year since we’ve watched the staff hang up the disco ball at 3am to the instrumental interlude of “Heart of Glass.” Though even that now seems like forever ago, I’ll always hold space in my heart for the bar that defined my 20s.

Weathering the pandemic in NYC without Paul’s — the beloved lounge by hitmaker Paul Sevigny — has been decidedly sobering. One might argue the world has more pressing crises, but isn’t that the point of nightlife? Or at least good nightlife, which offers community, or catharsis, for the troubles of the day. Paul’s, also known as Baby, is the perfect downtown rabbit hole to escape the world for a couple of hours — a 1,000-square foot tropical-printed oasis where you can reliably find a good time, someone you know, and a spare cigarette.

Though Paul’s (and it’s loosely enforced no-photo policy) did also attract a number of celebrities over the years, from Azealia Banks to Timothée Chalamet and Lindsay Lohan, its magic lies in those who identify as regulars — a crowd meticulously curated by inscrutable longtime doorman, Ludwig. “Ludwig is incorruptible,” notes longtime server Schuyler Quinn. “He has such a good sense of like, who's going to add something to the room and who's just going to sort of suck energy out of it.”

To be granted entrance to Paul’s has become perhaps one of NYC nightlife’s most coveted rites of passage. And yet that exclusivity at the door affords more inclusivity and comfort for those inside. “While other places feel deeply impersonal and seem to only place emphasis on the number of warm female bodies per table, Paul’s has a finger on the pulse of what it means to be ‘cool’ and aspirational,” says artist and Paul’s regular Isabela Weeks. “The different cliques of regulars: international kids, celebrities and influencers, Twitter-literate people, the gay nightlife mafia. It’s a small ecosystem that represents the culture of downtown. You also become familiar and friendly with the people who work there — in many ways, it’s like a dysfunctional family.”

Paul’s isn’t officially closed just yet — and though The Roxy, the hotel that houses Paul's, plans to return in full force, the fate of the establishment remains somewhat unclear. So, one year into the pandemic, we thought we’d ask some of the club’s most frequent patrons and staffers to eulogize it in their own words. After all, far too many great artists are only recognized after they’re already gone.