AFTR/IMG · ROOM · APT · CONF APPROXIMATE
APT
Overview
Hidden Meatpacking District bar designed to feel like an apartment, remembered for Rich Medina's nine-year Lil Ricky's Rib Shack residency and its serious underground DJ bookings.
APT opened around 2001 at 419 West 13th Street in the early days of the Meatpacking District's transformation, conceived by JH and Jonathan Morr as a bar designed to feel like someone's apartment rather than a nightclub. The interior was created by French-Iranian designer India Mahdavi around an invented resident named Bernard, its décor suggesting a borrowed living room. Despite its miniscule footprint across two levels, APT sustained some of the most serious DJ bookings of the 2000s New York underground: Rich Medina's Lil Ricky's Rib Shack anchored the venue for nine consecutive years, while Bobbito Garcia, Theo Parrish, Stacey Pullen, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Chairman Mao (alongside Keb Darge on raw-soul Saturday nights), Modeselektor, and Tiefschwarz all played its downstairs room. The mix of hip-hop, Detroit techno, broken-beat, and deep house programming (delivered at close range to a small crowd) made APT a reference point for what intimate DJ-focused nightlife could look like in an era when much of Manhattan was scaling toward bottle-service rooms. At least one contemporary source dates the opening to 2000; the record reflects 2001 with approximate verification for the opening year.
Oral histories & archival media
Archive plates
Plates fill in as scans clear rights
Sonic profile
Cultural role
DJs, promoters & people
JH
Owner · Co-founder of APT alongside Jonathan Morr. Full name not confirmed in available sources.
Jonathan Morr
Owner · Co-founder of APT with JH; his precise later hospitality projects are not confirmed in available sources.
India Mahdavi
Designer · French-Iranian interior designer who created APT's apartment-like interior around a fictional resident named Bernard. Known for residential-scale hospitality design internationally.
Rich Medina
Resident DJ · Hosted Lil Ricky's Rib Shack at APT for nine consecutive years, the longest residency at the venue and the night most identified with its dancefloor.
Bobbito Garcia
Resident DJ · Known as Bobbito the Barber; co-host of the legendary Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show on WKCR. Documented resident DJ at APT.
Theo Parrish
DJ · Detroit-based house DJ and producer; documented at APT as part of the venue's deep-house programming.
Chairman Mao
DJ · Documented Saturday-night DJ at APT, playing alongside Keb Darge in the venue's raw-soul programming.
Keb Darge
DJ · Scottish DJ known for deep funk and rare soul; documented at APT on Saturday nights alongside Chairman Mao.
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