Dive Bar Jukebox with Kendra Borowski
"Music scene is crazy, bands start up each and every day."
Welcome back to Dive Bar Jukebox, where every Friday bartenders, writers, chefs, musicians, and a cast of cool characters answer the question: If we were hanging out together at a bar and I put ten credits on the jukebox, what songs would you punch in and why? The answers reveal thoughts on their favorite dive bars along with a hand-picked, annotated playlist for your weekend listening pleasure.
Please welcome today’s special guest…
Kendra Borowski
Today for the first time on DBJ we go behind the bar, so to speak, with a publicist for a bar. That bar happens to be one of my neighborhood favorites, Grand Army, and that’s where I first met Kendra Borowski. At Grand Army she works with the talented team to spotlight their efforts and spread the good word about the bar’s creative seasonal menus (like the current “Summer Camp”; I really dig the Good Humor made with reposado tequila, strawberries, blanc vermouth, and red bitter) and their regular series of featured programming, pop-ups, activations, and events, like this summer’s weekend block parties.
Borowski worked in PR and marketing for more than 15 years, primarily focusing on food and hospitality-minded businesses, before starting her own company, Kendra PR. “I love working with bars and restaurants where I would likely be a regular, even if they weren’t a client,” says Borowski. In addition to GA, some of Kendra PR’s other clients include Black Seed Bagels, ALF Bakery, Cool World, Celestine, Boqueria, Casa Carmen, and Three Maples among others.
She’s also passionate about seeking out new music, playing the occasional DJ gig, riding her bike around the Big City, and hanging out with her roommate and most charming cat, Anderson Coopurr. For her DBJ debut, Borowski shares a playlist with a mix of New Order, Dire Straits, and The Supremes, along with stories about spontaneous dance parties at Soho dive bars and the tale of a legendary unbreakable bottle of Jägermeister.
Talking Dives with Kendra Borowski
What is your favorite dive bar and why do you love it?
Kendra: Milano’s on Houston Street. I lived across from it for most of my 20s, which was both very fun and a little dangerous. The bartenders have always been so friendly and I’ve made some lifelong friends there. I’m actually a little afraid to mention it here because no one else has and I fear I may be outing one of NYC’s last best-kept dive bar secrets, but I really want to see it stay in business—not that I am that powerful—but this is just a really ideal dive bar.