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Long-standing South End bar shuts down
By adamg on Thu, 03/04/2021 - 5:19pm
BosGuy reports the demise of the Boston Eagle on Tremont Street, and that the space, along with its liquor license, is now up for lease.
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Wrinkle bar.
I know a lot of people in the neighborhood who will be hoping this means the nasty bad neighbor owner will be gone soon too.
Fuck you Jack!
Fuck you Jack!
I doubt he’s enjoying much the ....
... million dollar fine ISD slapped him with in 2019.
Edit: Too bad you edited your post. You were spot on in your description.
Does he live next door?
Above the roosters barber shop?
Leo does. In the penthouse.
Part of the deal he made with the developers when he sold them his ye olde candy and junk shop that used to be in that spot.
The developers also offered to repair the roof and gutters over the Eagle when they saw how dangerous it was on the icy sidewalk below that Leo refuses to have shoveled till the fines pile up. They said they offered a good deal since they had the manpower, equipment and supplies already in place. But not good enough for the miser.
Not since the infamous drag queen Sylvia Sydney.
Has anyone in the Boston gay community been so loathsome as Jack
Sylvia Sydney!
I haven't heard that name in years. The infamous "Bitch of Boston" a/k/a "The Mess In A Dress". I don't know if somebody like old Sylvia would even be allowed to exist in the current woke climate.
LOL no doubt
For sure... Any time she walked into the old Haymarket there would be a collective groan... ah, the days of Rick Astley and my 30w Bugle Boy jeans!
I was Sylvia’s nurse years
I was Sylvia’s nurse years ago (early 70’s) at the hospital. He invited us to see his show. When we went he mentioned nurses during his stage show and said “nurses are like waitresses”!
You bite your tongue!
Jack is a national treasure. His acerbic with and photographic memory of patrons made that place unique and its closure is a loss to the South End. Once he assigns you a nickname, it's his name for you for life. You could walk in there one day and he'd call you something like "Esmerelda" (or some other early 1900s era name), then when you return for the first time thirty years later and he'd remember you and the name he assigned you thirty years before and say "where ya been?". His tartness was an act of high satirical performance art, and like all satire, is wasted on the stupid. At least he had a willing, eager, and attentive audience of patrons and himself.
He loved me, honey. I was
He loved me, honey. I was young and cute and too strong for him. Bitch preyed on the weak.
Well...
He was no Bobby Daigle...
Well...
He was no Gary Dotterman either.
Jack is great
I always enjoyed going to the Eagle and never had a problem getting waiting on.
Whatever you say ...
... Jack.
;)
Love the satire, Esmerelda.
.
One Eagle Comes, Another Goes...
Interesting that there is a story here about a bar called the Boston Eagle closing, while there is another story here about an actual eagle landing in Boston.
And an eagle mentioned in a comment above.
Daigle = d’aigle = “of eagle” in French.
In my pajamas
It's all true.
You never met Jack? Here's a YouTube video I created awhile back.
https://youtu.be/RMBMbasFgFk
(There's a quote in it that shouldn't be misconstrued, fyi.)
One time a few years ago, Terry and I were walking down Tremont with a friend (we lived on that block for 8 years, 2006-2014) and we passed the Eagle. Jack was there. I left them and went on ahead.
Jack said to Terry, "That one hasn't pulled out his wallet to pay for a drink in the 20 years he's come here. Do you know him?"
Terry: "Know him? I'm married to him."
Jack: "Oh, honey, how can you stand it."
Little known fact: there's a basement that used to be part of the bar.
The bar was supposed to be serving food; there was a popcorn machine in the corner. (Maybe it was hot dogs?)
Jack didn't own the bar; he just worked there.
The bar was used for a scene in Ted 2. Jay Leno has sex in the men's bathroom.
https://youtu.be/AhRopqxNu0g
One of the owners, Leo Motsis ....
.... is sometimes also called Jack.
He’s called a lot of other things too.
The only good thing he has done in his miserable life was to sue a Brookline landowner who blocked a public right of way that goes over his property. Though he didn’t sue for the benefit of the community.
Good Riddens
I had only been in the Eagle and handful of times in the 20 years I've lived here. And regretted it each time. Between Jack and the clientele. I can say GOOD RIDDENS to this bar.
Now I won't have to explain to someone from out of town that "The Eagle" is NOT a S&M bar.. but a S&M Bar.. Stand & Model. Don't go there if you are expecting a similar vibe as other cities Eagles.
When you've been to other Eagles around the country you realize, much like Boston nightlife.. the Boston Eagle is a joke.
"Riddens"?
"Good riddens"?? It was used twie, so I know it's not a typo. I suspect what is meant is "good riddance".
Like Boston v. Ft. Lauderdale...
...was always pretty much the opposite. Our Ramrod was spacious and well-kept and our Eagle was a small, cramped dive. In FTL it was the opposite: expansive Eagle and hole-in-the-wall Ramrod (though the worst of their bars would still beat our best any day).
Sad to see that both are gone.
The Eagle isn’t gone.
Hopes for a better owner with respect for nostalgia.
I’ve never set foot inside because of the current one but I’d love to see the interior and if it has original details and such. Just an ordinary out of style interior with oldfashioned un-artfully placed incandescent light bulbs would be satisfying to see as well.
Probably needs to be fumigated though.
Over the years
I've known many people who said service at the Eagle sucked so they never left a tip. After a while I stopped arguing with them.
My heart hopes some
My heart hopes some enterprising member of the LGBT community will take over and make it a worthwhile destination. My gut says it will be a bank in 2 years.
Or any member of ....
.... any community.
It would be good if community meetings open to all races, ethnicities and other minorities could be held there again.
Leo’s frequent sidewalk blasts against and harassment of Asians, the mentally ill, low income, etc are... or were legendary. And intimidating.
He hasn’t been seen or smelled there much lately. Thankfully.
Nostalgia
I won't miss it (not that I live where I could visit) but I was certainly there enough times, including wearing my pajamas but that might not have happened.
First, I want to say for posterity, while LGBTQ is considered an all-inclusive term (like POC, I guess), the Eagle was nevrr a LGBTQ bar. It was a gay bar. The distinction is important because, while all were welcome, not everyone went there, and that's a complete thesis on its own as to why.
In my experience, which began probably in my late 20s to late 40s (age, not decade), everyone was a white male. Maybe a drag queen (or, king) but not any obvious trans person. I don't remember ever seeing a lesbian.
College straight boys liked coming there with their girlfriends because it was naughty and because they liked the attention from Jack). Gay twinks in college showed up at 1 am because they thought it was naughty and they liked the attention from everyone. Mostly it was guys in flannel shirts and me in my pajamas one time.
Looks like Leo was quoted recently.
So still toxic.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/28/metro/dying-wish-decorated-marine...
Thank you Jack!
There will never be another Eagle! Sidewalk Sale. So many tricks and so many treats!
Thank you Jack. Hope you win big at the casino.