- by Rebecca Baird-Remba, Staff Writer; Image:  Soviet flags are homage to the history of establishment and are a common decoration at KGB Bar

KGB Bar is just dark, dingy, and Soviet-themed enough to be a classic kind of East Village establishment. Barely visible from the street except for a small red sign, squeezed into the second floor of a small building with a comedy club below it and a theater above it, KGB is in the heart of the old Ukrainian/Polish neighborhood on Second Avenue.

Serving up cheap drinks and literary culture since its opening in 1993, KGB has been deemed a New York literary institution by the New York Times and the Village Voice. KGB started out with weekly literary readings by new, young writers, and now hosts readings four or five nights a week and publishes an online lit magazine.

Founder Denis Woychuk used to frequent the building with his father back in the ’60s and ’70s, when it was still the Ukrainian Labor Home, a social club for Ukrainian socialists. KGB Bar used to be a hidden speakeasy for Woychuk’s father and his Ukrainian cronies, a place where they could socialize without fear of Cold War-era Communist paranoia. Paying homage to the bar’s roots, Woychuk has papered the walls with Soviet-era propaganda posters and hung the Soviet flag above the bar.

Although people told Woychuk, “Don’t open a bar on the second floor. There are no bars on the second floor for a reason. They go bankrupt,” he persisted, and the bar has become a great success. Since Woychuk and his business partner were both writers, they realized they wanted to host new authors, people who wanted to promote their work and make a name for themselves.

On Wednesday night, writers from online literary magazine Anderbo.com read at KGB. Anna Lisa McClelland read “My Accidental AA Meeting,” a fictional story about how she tries to give a birthday present to her favorite homeless man and ends up at his AA meeting.

“You can’t fake it with God. I want God to see me sober when he greets me in heaven. I want him to say, how many fingers do I have, and I want to be able to answer him right,” says Shirley, one of the AA meeting’s attendees.

Carolyn Silveira, associate editor at Anderbo, read her equally hilarious (fictional) story, “How James Franco Became My Boyfriend,” in which she invites James Franco to her Passover seder. Other readers included poet Bridget Bell and fiction writer Adam Gallari.

While KGB is dark, small, and relatively crowded on the nights of readings, it has a relaxed yet cultured air that’s perfect for a casual drink with some friends. If you like the dive bar scene in the Village, you’ll appreciate KGB’s dark, intimate atmosphere (like Kettle of Fish or Vol de Nuit in the West Village) and relaxed vibes.

KGB Bar is located at 85 East 4^th street on the second floor. For more information about the bar, its magazine, and their ongoing events, check out their website.