Sixth Avenue Location
Jekyll and Hyde also operated a larger location on the Avenue of the Americas in Midtown between 57th and 58th street.[8] This branch was four floors tall, much larger than the original Greenwich Village location.[8]
Circa 2006, a New York Times columnist Frank Bruni visited the restaurant while it was "packed" and described his experience: We all waited 15 minutes before getting in the door and registering with the host, cleverly dubbed a “scare traffic controller.” We waited another 35 minutes before being seated.
At the Jekyll and Hyde Club there are fake corpses strewn here and there, and the restrooms are behind trick walls made to look like bookshelves. The restaurant is amusing one moment, insufferable the next, much like its pint-sized patrons...
At our table, 15 minutes elapsed before a server bothered to deal with us. But during that delay, performers passed by. One was dressed in a manner that perhaps evoked a vampire, or maybe a mad scientist, or maybe just a hobo. I couldn’t quite tell. Following an obviously practiced script, he told Gavin and Bella that they weren’t nearly as annoying as he’d expected them to be. The remark puzzled them. Even little children know misguided humor when they hear it... Bruni described the tomato sauce as "red-tinged water" and the burgers as overpriced theme park cuisine, although they were cooked as requested.[8]
In March 2012, this branch closed and moved to 44th Street, near Times Square. This branch closed in March 2015. The Sixth Avenue façade continued to stand long after its closing, up to its demolition in 2015.[9] A 2019 Eater article praised the poison-themed cocktails and described the experience as, "a kitschy, G-rated haunted house, but its longevity, and the popularity of experiences like it, comes from how it taps into our desire for [a] transformative experience."[4]
Bankruptcy
By August 2013, the restaurant owed $1.1 million in unpaid rent.[10] By 2014, it was already identified as bankrupt.
In 2022, the restaurant filed for bankruptcy with $7.5 million owed to creditors and $1.5 million owed in back rent.[3][7] This was partly caused by lack of tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The only remaining restaurant closed in June 2022.[11]
