Restaurants have never had much luck at 55 Colborne. In the last two years, both The Bowery and Osteria 55 have tried and failed to woo the Financial District’s after-work crowds to the cavernous space. Hanif Harji, who collaborated with Charles Khabouth on King West hot spots Patria and Weslodge, is hoping to change that with Switch, a slick, new two-storey lounge set to open in early May. The main floor, modeled on Prohibition-era Brooklyn bars, serves cocktails and bar snacks until 10 p.m., when the DJ cranks up the tunes and turns the place into a full-blown club. The lower level, meanwhile, is tricked out like a kitschy rec room with video games, shag carpets and big screen TVs. If the success of similar places, like ping-pong club Spin and bowling-alley-slash-bar The Ballroom, are any indication, Switch may just overcome the 55 Colborne curse. [Notable]
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