As a midwesterner born and raised, I've never been to Washington Heights, and have only been to lower Manhattan a couple times as a tourist. When I picked up this book I didn't even know where it was located, it just seemed like a slightly different take on the history/biography genre I've been into lately so I thought I'd give it a try. Coogan's turned out to be a griping narrative history that I had a hard time putting down! I learned so much, and I'm so sad that the bar was lost to the pandemic so now I can never visit. However, while reading I did google some things and discover that their Facebook and Instagram pages are still alive and I had a fun time scrolling back through pictures to put faces to the names, see the bar in all its glory and was especially thrilled to find video evidence of the story about Lin-Manuel Miranda once singing Happy Birthday to a group of diners! Once finished, I sent them a nice message on Facebook and Tess quickly sent a lovely reply. It really seems like a great group of people and I hope they're all doing well!

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name.” Bars should be special places and Irish Bars, more often than not, are the best places to have a great pint with old or new friends talking politics or listening and singing along. I really enjoyed Michaud’s book, “Last Call at Coogan’s.” Unfortunately, I never had a chance to visit this NYC institution, but this book made it as if I was sitting at the bar. It is not only a great history of this bar, but of NYC and what was happening throughout the 35 years that it was a place that provided a special, important meeting place in Washington Heights. I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about this bar or even the history of NYC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Last Call at Coogans by Jon Michaud!

Lots of historical information and dates to wade through. I requested this book because I love NYC and I was hoping there would be more references to the city itself. I wasn’t a big fan of the way this book was written but I am grateful that I received an advance copy of this book for review.

An enjoyable tribute to a beloved community institution. I was surprised to discover this bar was located in Washington Heights and especially enjoyed reading about the larger community context of Coogan's.

Wonderful book! It was clearly well research and made for such an easy read. It felt like talking to a bartender and finding out about the place you are drinking. It is beautifully written, and fascinating.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for my complimentary copy of Last Call a Coogan’s.

A poignant love story to the rise and fall of a beloved neighborhood bar.
I really enjoyed reading about the beginnings of this cherished bar in Washington Heights. Such a shame to have is close during COVID after the neighborhood came together to fight the injustice of the rent increase.
Every neighborhood needs a place where friends and “not friends yet” can meet and forget about their problems for a few hours.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. Slow start but it picks up and becomes a heartfelt story about friendship, family and a community all being part of this long standing establishment.

Covering decades of New York history from the perspective of one neighborhood bar, Last Call at Coogan’s speaks to the growth and change of a community at a very intimate level. It reads like a series of vignettes, showing snapshots of the lives of the owners, employees, regulars, and local partners of a hometown bar in a diverse and rapidly growing section of town.

It’s entertaining, it’s personal, it’s introspective, and it drives home the need for places and institutions that are driven by a spirit of support, understanding, collaboration, and acceptance. A solid read covering a turbulent period of recent history and some of the colorful, real-life characters that inhabited it.

Thanks to Jon Michaud, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for my gifted copy. Last Call at Coogan’s is available now!

I really enjoy nonfiction, especially when it reads well like this one. Coogan’s was a neighborhood Irish bar that opened in NYC’s Washington Heights in 1985 and ended up closing as a result of the pandemic in 2020. However, its life was threatened prior to that until local politicians and Lin-Manuel Miranda helped to keep the doors open until 2020. Learning about how this beloved community bar had such an impact on the community, as well as how the bar came to be in the first place was a really fascinating read that I enjoyed. I love bars like this and the people behind them, and while I never had the opportunity to go while in NYC I thought this was was a great read that I definitely recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital and advanced copies to review.

Last Call at Coogan's is the story of a neighborhood bar in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan. It is the story of an independant bar/restaurant doing everything it can to keep up with the neighborhood and it's people. The book is very well researched, and the story is told in a very relatable narrative. It is not simply a dry, academic telling of the history of the bar and the neighborhood.

You get to know the owners and the patrons very well. You root for them, and care for them, and quite frankly end up wanting to visit Coogan's and have a drink with them! This is a story of a changing city, and changing times, and an establishment that did all it could to bring people together and be a safe haven for all. It is sad that so few places like this still exist and that after all that Coogan's did to stay open through thick and thin, the pandemic ultimately caused its demise as well.

This is a great read for anyone interested in the history of NY, and what one establishment can do to truly bring people together.

There’s a lot going on with this book. First I felt part of the story would jump back and forth from the 90’s to the 80s which I understood since the bar opened in 1985. But once you got into the early 2000’s the story would still jump back and forth. My second issue or concern was that to me it seemed as if the people owning the bar or wanting control of the bar had never worked in the restaurant or bar business before. There was one female employee who was a bartender who actually should have been the owner because she knew what she was doing behind the bar and in the back with orders, books, and supplies. The biggest problem with the bar business is alcohol is so expensive and bartenders will steal that, which is why owners are always working or have a hidden camera. Having been in the restaurant business I don’t know how to handle the other issues that they had but there might have been a way, but covid did in many long-time bars and restaurants that did not have enough in the bank or people there to support them. A very interesting book still.

Last Call At Coogan’s The Life and Death of a Neighborhood Bar by @jon.michaud

Did you ever know an establishment that you would frequent often? Then one day it’s no longer a place to gather with friends?

I read this book last month and today it is out in the world. Coogan’s Bar and Restaurant opened in New York City in 1985 and closed its doors in the Spring of 2020 during the pandemic.

And so the story began….

This book was written by @jon.michaud and he takes us behind the scenes of the life inside Coogan’s. It’s fascinating to hear stories from the characters themselves , surprising , fun and heartfelt.

I found this book to be a feel-good read and just getting to know all about the neighborhood and what it has meant to everyone who was ever part of Coogan’s made reading it even more enjoyable.

Last Call at Coogan's was a book that taught me something. From a beloved bar established, admittedly before I was born, to shutting its door during the 2020 COVID pandemic, there is a lot to unpack. I liked how Jon Michaud separated each chapter into it's own section so I could go back and reference different antidotes and stories. As a lover of all things nonfiction, this was a win in my book!

Thank you St. Martin's Press for access to this ARC!

This is a great history of a bar that was so foundational to Washington Heights. We have all seen the neighborhood bar trope on TV all our lives, but this really existed and did all the things we see the TV bars do.

Coogan's was a neighborhood establishment located in Washington Heights New York that was a result of a tragedy or at least them settlement from a tragedy. When the original owners developed their vision for this place the neighborhood was no ideal to say the least, but they had a vision for an Irish Bar and they ran with it. I believe everyone would like an establishment in their own neighborhood as this was not just a bar and a restaurant this was the type of establishment that helped create a community. Even though the owner ship was a little haphazard for a while this was the place that everyone from politicians from all levels, community leaders, and so many others would come to network, or pickup on the gossip of the moment in neighborhood. Many different groups and business used this place as a neutral zone for meetings where everyone could speak freely. Regardless of what was happening outside the four walls it was a different world inside. You will see how many different ways Coogan's gave back to the community and how in their time of need the community returned the favor. This was a good read overall.

This book is exceptionally readable. There are a lot of people in the story of this neighborhood bar, but I was able to keep them straight. There are also a lot of tough issues that Coogan’s supported people through. We see how they worked to provide unity to the neighborhood and the writing doesn’t really take sides. In the end, this is a bar that worked hard to be more and I’m glad that I could read about it.
If you want an easy to read book about people trying to do good, pick this up. You will be happy you did.

Last Call at Coogan's is about a bar in NYC, Washington Heights, from the time it opened in the 1980s until closing due to the Pandemic. There were a lot of people involved in the history of the saloon - employees, some customers, and the various owners. It was very well researched but I just never felt the vibrancy and the heart of the place. It felt like a bunch of facts about a restaurant and it's neighborhood. I think if you have any knowledge of New York it would be fascinating and I would have enjoyed it more if I had knowledge at all of New York.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

The Last Call at Coogan's brings back many memories of working in New York City; such a wonderful place to be, to live, to love and definitely to enjoy. I worked in midtown so Coogan's was not in my neighborhood, and I lived in Connecticut so again not in my list of places to visit. That being said, I wish I had known about this neighborhood bar - maybe not so much to drink but to enjoy the atmosphere and to belong to a good group of people. I would definitely recommend this book as a good read, and definitely a book that will welcome people back to non-fiction a genre that often gets ignored.

Wonderful book! It's impeccably researched, beautifully written, and unexpectedly fascinating. It goes into great detail about Coogan's, a neighborhood bar in Washington Heights, but it's about so much more. A great way to learn about the history of the neighborhood and how changes in the community, the effects of the Covid pandemic and other factors affected the bar and the greater area. Highly recommended! Many thanks for St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this compelling book.