Phased reopening starts with Friday and Saturday night parties
After having its doors closed for nearly a year-and-a-half due to COVID, beloved Downtown Crossing lounge and danceteria Good Life will return to action on Friday, July 16.
“With little to no help from the government, things seem doomed,” owner Peter Fiumara said. “But where there’s a will there is a way.”
“I think Good Life is both reminiscent of the past but important for the future,” added DJ Knife, who has handled DJ bookings there for more than a decade. “This city has lost some of the most important places that have made up its charm. There needs to be some grit and character remaining.”
Good Life will reopen in phases, starting with parties on Friday and Saturday nights. The kitchen will reopen at a later date.
“Good Life has been in the same unfortunate situation that so many bars/restaurants/lounges/nightclubs have been cast into,” Fiumara added. “Residing in a financial district added another layer of difficulty because of the absence of patrons due to remote work and the dismantling of all nightlife during the pandemic. Our hope of being able to return as quickly as possible has been challenged many times. Good Life is still in court fighting eviction, wrestling with debt, and a myriad of other issues. We unfortunately were not one of the establishments saved by the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) that was approved federally to rescue businesses such as ours. The only lifelines for stabilization, other than from savings, were from family and some compassionate friends.
“Everyone who worked at Good Life lost their job and had to reestablish themselves somehow. Most of those employees treated Good Life as if it was their own business—they cared about the patrons and their co-workers, it was a community. The ones who believed in and continued to believe in what we all created will be back to reopen and see everyone again. Good Life would be nothing without all these remarkable people.
“We have been trying to claw back, somehow, we are almost there.” –Dig Staff
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
