The Big Cup is closing on Sunday due to high rents, as Chelsea continues its de-gayification. I used to spend many a weekend afternoon at the Big Cup, sitting in a comfy chair (if I could find one) with a book and a hot chocolate and shyly not talking to cute guys.
One weekday evening a few years ago I had an out-of-town guest whom I wanted to show gay Manhattan. I really should have taken him to Christopher Street and Sheridan Square, but instead I took him to Chelsea. He was duly unimpressed. There’s always been something sterile about Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. Unlike the Village, there’s no neighborhood center like Sheridan Square, nothing historical like the Stonewall, no gay bookstore like the Oscar Wilde Bookshop, and no interesting architecture. Eighth Avenue is just another wide, impersonal Manhattan avenue.
The Chelsea boys have all moved to Hell’s Kitchen, anyway.
Goodbye, Big Cup.
Well what we need is a report from the front lines of Hell’s Kitchen, ASAP.
The Big Cup was destined to runneth over.
Not that I ever went to the Big Cup or will particularly miss it…but when beloved businesses that don’t hurt for customers are forced under by high rents (as with Joe’s Pizza, Kim’s Video and multiple other New York institutions), something is very, very wrong.
Bill Clinton would call it “eating our seed corn.” Eliminate the reasons people come to New York and eventually you’ll have a mall that offers nothing you can’t get more cheaply in any other city. Try charging an astronomical rent then.
Gays could start going to the Monkey Room now.
Alas, Big Cup.
As a twenty-something, that was my Sunday morning hangover hangout.
The coffee there was extra-nasty. And those old sofas were downright frightening.
I thought it was nice in that it gave folks an alcohol-free place to go and socialize, though.
I lived less than 200 feet away from Big Cup for about a year, 2002-2003. Never went. I’ve never had a cup of coffee, and I’ve never understood the point of coffeehouses, people sitting around pretending to read, pretending to ignore each other. I’d rather just go to an actual bar. Yet, I understand the place that Big Cup held in Chelsea culture. And you’re right, Hell’s Kitchhen IS the place to be.
What ‘de-gayification’? Very recently Mike Signorile referred to Chelsea where he now lives as the ‘gay ghetto’ – or was he joking?
Speaking of Hell’s Kitchen, The Coffee Pot is closed for renovation. And Fluff is closed for vacation. And what with Big Cup closing, this is not a good time to go for a cup of coffee in the gaybourhoods. I sincerely hope the signs on the doors of these establishments are in truth and not wishful thinking. There are an awful lot of vacant storefronts on Ninth Avenue right now.