10 questions about opening a family-friendly horror bar in Queens
'Be strange not a stranger' and other wisdom about opening a themed bar in Ridgewood.
Ahead of The New York Groove’s happy hour at Flying Fox Tavern tonight, I sat down with the bar's owners, Tracy Bradbury and Chad Johnson, to learn more about their spooky, one-of-a-kind bar.
Open since January 2022, the Flying Fox Tavern has quickly become a neighborhood favorite, blending classic horror vibes with a laid-back, community-centered atmosphere. It's covered in local art like neon bats, geometric coffin wallpaper and a wall full of three-dimensional foam monster sculptures heads; all while serving up hearty pub food (yes, vegan options included). From ghost story nights to macabre lectures, the Flying Fox celebrates horror in a family-friendly way. Ready for spooky cocktails, eerie decor, and a night of ghost stories? Come join us at tonight’s event!
New York Groove: Let’s begin with some introductions. Can you each tell me a bit about your background and what led you to open Flying Fox Tavern? How did the two of you meet and decide to go into business together?
Tracy Bradbury: My background is in the bar and events side: I was at The Cobra Club in Bushwick for a decade. I saw a hole in the market for a classic horror themed place. I’ve been a Ridgewood resident for almost 20 years and wanted to be part of the burgeoning scene.
Chad Johnson: I’m originally from Denmark, did some time in the Navy, have been cooking for 22 years. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done, it’s the only way I know how to make money. I started off in bigger places and burnt out, now I have business on the side doing tiki mugs. I’m also in a punk band!
TB: We met maybe 15 years ago as part of the rock and roll scene, going out to see bands.
CJ: I’ve been living in Ridgewood in total about 15 years, riding the L train so deep that you woke people up and said 'hey buddy I think you missed your stop.' We met at the Cobra Club, we went there quite a bit to see rock and roll. We’ve been friends for a long time and joked about doing a business together; with the cheaper rents, it was a good chance to get our foot in the door, as the neighborhood was changing. New York changes, though, you know, but that's what makes New York beautiful, and the frontrunner and just the best.
TB: Yeah there’s a lot of flashy headlines about gentrification but also we have more diversity; a block and a half away, we’re good friends with the Yemeni restaurant owners, and nearby we have Tequila Time, run by neighbors. There’s a diversity of businesses run by locals and neighbors.
As long-time residents, how has Ridgewood changed?
TB: I think it’s great. Ridgewood has always been residential and neighborly. It’s lovely tree-lined streets for the most part, lots of new places are now coming in and it’s great. You used to have to go down to Bushwick and Williamsburg years ago and now we have a scene here. I mention that we’re old: We’ve been in the subculture here for a long time, but I’ve started a family and we’re at a point now where we give back to the community. We can keep Ridgewood cool, Queens cool.
CJ: It’s a beautiful, diverse community, lots of people who have the opportunity to open their businesses, get a piece of the pie, who have been here a long time. People don’t realize that a lot of these places are by people who have been here for a long time, not many outsiders but real locals.
Tell me more about how the idea for a horror-themed bar came about.
TB: Biggest thing here is that we wanted to fill a hole in the market. There was only one place at the time, Jekyll and Hyde in the city, that had any horror theme but that was more of a Disney feel. But it’s a subculture like some people are into: horror, classic horror, black-and-white movies, not gore. Our theme is inclusive in that way. We don’t want a family to come in and be scared. I myself am not into gore, but we’re pretty heavy on the vampire stuff — the dark and sexy, romantic psychological horror — so the decor and all of that goes along those lines.
CJ: We both have been into the subculture for a lifetime. Goth, punk rockers, it’s what we are, what we do. So in opening up a place, it was nice to have a spot where there was never any terrible music playing. If you open your own place, you can do what you want.
What’s the story of how you got the bar and how you settled here?
TB: It’s never easy to go through the process, also coming out of the pandemic there was a bunch of hurdles in the way, but honestly I haven’t heard from anyone that it’s a cake walk.
CJ: And also it’s been that we’re lucky, especially Tracy, that we have a lot of friends, we were able to call in a lot of local favors. Someone knows how to drywall, someone is a plumber, you know. People who come out and support us and give us time, energy and support, our fellow restaurant owners, our fellow bartenders. We’ve been lucky to be able to call up over the years and say, “hey,” and “how do you do that?” We’ve been lucky to have people that give us their time, expertise and support. Really it’s a community thing.
This is why we went with the tavern aspect, where in the traditional tavern pub — not like a regular bar where you’re just drinking to yourself — you go in, you share, you create friendships, you have ideas, and that’s why we like to have lecture nights and stuff like that — and ghost stories! We like getting to create more community than a typical restaurant, or at least have a place for community to go.
Since you’re both fans of horror, any favorite horror movies?
CJ: Clive Barker for sure: books, movies, anything. But I’ll watch anything. In the entire month of October I won’t watch anything that's not a horror movie.
TB: I’m the complete opposite. I have a list of movies that the staff aren’t allowed to play, like the Gremlins, I can barely talk about it.
I love Christopher Lee as Dracula in the Hammer film series. Our cocktail list is named after all the famous vampires, Dracula, Akasha for the Queen of the Damned, the Count for our mocktail. Christopher Lee is the spicy margarita because he’s the sexy vampire of the 1970’s, that one trickle of blood. So dramatic.
CJ: Very demure, very mindful.
How do you build a wall of cool foam sculptures? Any tips for prospective collectors?
TB: We do have another business partner who came in later in the game, Tim Kellen. He’s an artist and it’s part of his work. He’s a bartender as well actually and had come in and done some artwork in the beginning, then later bought in. The heads were on lend from him
CJ: He was like, I don’t have space to have this in my house! Let me store it here! People bring us random things all the time, like a couple of mannequins, picture frames, some things that we have to hide in the basement for a while instead of bringing up. People bring us artwork, we like to hang up on the wall.
Which of your regular events are your favorite?
CJ: Our longest running regular event is a lecture series called House of KNOW. It’s run by a friend of ours, Mike Decay, who is super into horror documentaries. He wrote a book about Vampira, also known as Maila Nurmi. Every month, he puts together specialty stuff like horror directors, people who specialize in gravestones, all on the macabre side. People come in and have a place to have dinner, have some drinks and listen to a lecture for two hours in a bar!
What are your most memorable moments with the bar?
TB: Well I’m sure you’ve heard of Uncle Spooky. He’s a guy who came into the bar for one of our events and has now become a bar mascot. He’s fantastic, and runs his own series called Uncle Spooky’s Spookorama.
CJ: We’ve had two weddings so far here. They loved horror and they liked the place and they were two regulars. That's the kind of thing where, as bar owners, after you’re like “Wow, it brings a tear to your face.”
TB: They’d been coming with their 3-year-old child since we opened. Our first New Year’s Eve party was a Halloween party with hors d'oeuvre and they were like, “Can we bring our kid to the party tonight?” And we’re the kind of place where the answer is like, yeah of course. And nine months later, they had their wedding here.
If you could have any guest visit the bar — dead or alive — who would it be?
CJ: Lemmy, the lead singer from Motorhead.
TB: Vampira, you know, a real predecessor to a lot of these horror hosts of the kind Uncle Spooky is. Like Elvira became the campy vampire, but Vampira didn’t end up with a lot in life. She’s like the vampire Betty Page in that sense.
CJ: That’s a good answer!
TB: Yeah, she was the first of the women that we look like now: goth makeup, dark hair, incredible eyebrows. She was often like [other] trendsetters, in that only after they die do you recognize oh they were doing someone incredible and independent and unusual for the time.
CJ: Over the top and bold and sexual.
TB: [She was] not playing a role also, whereas people like Lily Munster and Morticia Adams were acting, Vampira had her persona but it really seemed like it was her, authentically. It would be kind of nice for her to be resurrected and recognized
Anything particularly spooky that you like about New York?
CJ: I love the Green-Wood after hours events, it’s a really fun place to have a few drinks. It’s nice to kinda sneak out to the side and get lost in the cemetery.
TB: I more think that Chad is the answer to this. Chad, in the punk band and in the old days, used to strip down and dress up and cover himself in blood and get on the subway, so there’s a lotta people that would say he’s their scary story.
CJ: I probably created more stories than seen them.
TB: And one last thing we have a silly tagline: Be strange, not a stranger. Come belly up to the bar, whatever you want to tell us, strange or not, come tell us.
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