Museum Director Laura Raicovich Gets a Second Act: Barkeep

There is something bigger than beer brewing at the Francis Kite Club, a new haunt in the East Village whose artists hold performances, shape its programming and debate politics from their barstools.

Above the patrons, including art stars like Marina Abramovic, is a mural by the painter Nina Nichols that imagines New York City repopulated with native plants and animals. A central panel features Annie Sprinkle, the artist and sexologist, and Naked Bear, a figure of Iroquois mythology, setting fire to the Merchant’s House, a local historic landmark. Cocktails are named after the picture, with the building’s destruction memorialized by vodka, Earl Grey tea, lemon and honey.

“I wanted to build somewhere warm and convivial, with cheap drinks and good people. Somewhere that definitely does not feel exclusive,” said Laura Raicovich, a former museum executive who is entering her second act as a bar impresario. Her business partners include the musician Kyp Malone, the stunt coordinator John McEnerney, the designer Alice McGillicuddy and the artist-activist Laura Hanna.