Will Open Second Sports Bar at 720 Monroe Street
Joe Concha

Liberty Bar is the best place to catch the game (whatever that game may be) in Hoboken.

This according to the results of realhoboken.com's Best of poll, anyway.

With 39% of the vote, Libery easily beat its closest competitors with the second place finisher (Black Bear) finishing 15 percentage points behind. Liberty has always been a #1 choice of Hobokenites for several reasons: It's location (14th and Washington) a major social zone with The Madison, City Bistro, and Hudson Tavern all within one block, and Hudson Tea, the Shipyard and Independance providing apartments for a few thousand people/customers. And when throwing in surprisingly good food and friendly service, it's easy to see why it won't going away.

Seeing that Hoboken has an appetite for sports bars and noting that no true players really exist on the West end of town, Liberty owner Dawn Kaplan has decided to duplicate her success in the old Shades of Hoboken location starting at the end of summer.

Liberty Bar and soon-to-be Liberty Too Owner Dawn Kaplan (r)

"I looked at the property, the space, and saw a great opportunity," explains Kaplan. "Liberty has done phenominal business since the new highrises have been built on the North end, and the buzz has been so good that people come from anywhere in town to watch their favorite teams here. My staff has helped make this success a reality, as has my chef! So I figured that - with all of the new construction near the 720 Monroe Area and the light rail having a stop one block away - an affordable, fun sports bar at that location could be just as popular."

Kaplan plans on opening the bar and restaurant, tentatively called "Liberty Too," by the time the Giants open their season on Thursday, September 4th against the Washington Redskins. She also has more than a few surprises in the works. "I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag," she says with a chuckle, but did offer three items as a tease:

1) Internet access at 10 areas of the venue. "If I hear about fantasy football one more time, I'm going to scream!" Kaplan jokes. She goes on to explain that a friend of hers runs a sports bar in Central Jersey that has the same cyber set-up, and it has been "a huge hit, a real difference maker."

As someone who lives Fantasy-anything, this appears to be a fine idea: Players can check their scores, injury updates, or make roster changes. The more time they're spending money at the bar is always good for business, and internet access will help patrons feel more at home.

Yes, a dunking booth

Kaplan also plans on having her uncle's old dunking booth for charity events. Kaplan explains that, "so many people ask about having charity events at Liberty" and that such a tank isn't very big, and would be used "often to raise money for causes in a way not found at anywhere else."

3) An "important member" of the local professional team will be one of three other investors. Even after a long interigation (she wouldn't say who) I had a pretty good idea of who she was talking about. Let's just say that I'm willing to take a wild guess and say this investor graduated from Rutgers and is seen in Liberty often.

The location of the old Shades location has plenty of space

Shades of Hoboken was a fine restaurant, but was hopelessly overpriced to survive in a largely unknown location. Perhaps a more affordable option with some local name-brand recognition will not only survive, but thrive between 7th and 8th on Monroe.

Stay tuned for more details on Liberty Too as they become available...

Joe Concha is realhoboken.com's Senior Writer and winner of two Fantasy Football Leagues (out of three) this past season. Email questions or comments to joeconcha@yahoo.com or use the message board on the homepage to share your thoughts with the free world.