Located in the historic SoHo district of New York City, Fanelli Cafe is one of the city’s oldest bars, situated opposite The Mercer hotel.
The property at 94 Prince Street, where Fanelli Cafe currently resides, first appeared in the city’s tax assessment records in 1846. In 1847, Herman Gerken leased the wooden building on the site and opened a grocery store. By 1857, Gerken replaced it with a five-story brick building that still exists.
The SoHo area underwent significant changes in the mid-19th century, transitioning from a residential neighborhood to a district lined with fashionable hotels, upscale stores, and brothels. Post-1870, the district became a hub for wholesale trade, featuring cast iron warehouses characteristic of today’s SoHo, an acronym for “south of Houston Street.”