Joe Allen is an American restaurant known as a Broadway meeting place for working actors, theater staff and fans – very much an industry institution. The restaurant is located at 326 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036, and was opened in 1965 by a restaurateur of the same name. Joe Allen is known for having its wall lined with posters of Broadway flops such as ''Laughing Room Only'', ''

Moose Murders ''Moose Murders'' is a play by Arthur Bicknell, self-described as a mystery farce. A notorious flop, it is now widely considered the standard of awfulness against which all Broadway failures are judged, and its name has become synonymous with t ...

'', and ''

Dance of the Vampires ''The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck'' (shortened to ''The Fearless Vampire Killers''; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Dance of the Vampires'') is a 1967 British comedy horror film directed b ...

''. The restaurant featured in scenes in the films '' No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968) and Woody Allen's '' Melinda and Melinda'' (2004). A branch opened in the

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions""Les Halles Dead at 200 ...

district of Paris in 1972 an
UK branch
in London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1977. Since 2018 these acquired different ownerships but retained the name and, in the case of the London branch, the theatrical atmosphere at a venue 100 metres from its original location. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the LONDON Joe Allen (under temporary closure due to the pandemic) launched a series of three online variety shows in order to raise funds both for the restaurant and the combined theatrical charities Acting For Others. Entitled An Evening At Joe's, the hour long shows, viewable on the Joe Allen YouTube channel, featured songs and sketches from West End and Broadway stars including Derek Jacobi, Chita Rivera, Gary Wilmot, Claire Moore, Sally Ann Triplett and Harriet Thorpe. The restaurateur Joe Allen, who gave the establishment its name, was born on February 20, 1933, and died on February 7, 2021, at the age of 87. He was memorialised with three colourful tributes in '' The New York Times'' as a restaurateur of the old school who could usually be seen looking unassuming on a barstool at one of his outlets or another. Once, when asked to explain his success, he cited his diffidence. “Maybe it’s because I don’t inflict myself on the customers,” he said.

References

{{Restaurants in Paris Restaurants in Manhattan Restaurants in London Restaurants in Paris 1965 establishments in New York City Restaurants established in 1965 Broadway (Manhattan)