A Western-themed bar and restaurant called Joe Kidd Cantina opened its doors on West 72nd Street on Friday, November 6, moving into a space that Upper West Siders knew for more than eight decades as the Emerald Inn. The new spot, located at 250 West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, serves Southwestern and Mexican food alongside an all-day happy hour, and it takes its name from the 1972 Clint Eastwood western film Joe Kidd.
According to iLovetheUpperWestSide.com, the cantina was opened by Colum Flattery along with partners Pat Fitzpatrick and Joseph Hollywood. Flattery told the publication he lived in California for five years and developed an interest in Mexican food and culture during that time. The cantina serves Southwestern and Mexican food.
What's on the Menu at Joe Kidd Cantina
Tacos run $7 to $8 each, with fillings including birria, pastor, and portobello, per the same account. The kitchen also turns out quesa-birria with consommé, El Paso duck rolls, and steak with chimichurri, alongside six wing flavors that include tequila lime, Cajun, and a sauce credited to Flattery himself.
Bigger plates include burgers priced between $15 and $24, a 12-ounce ribeye for $34, fajitas, and a birria short rib pie. The menu's priciest item is a $36 surf 'n' turf that pairs an 8-ounce ribeye with shrimp in garlic white wine sauce. Dessert options include churros, pecan pie, and tres leches cake.
Happy Hour and Hours of Operation
Joe Kidd Cantina is open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight and offers an all-day happy hour with $6 beers, $8 mixed drinks, and $8 house wines. Customers who pay cash also get a 10% discount, the outlet reported. An earlier West Side Rag dispatch had said the space was expected to open in October, though the cantina ultimately opened in November.
The End of an 82-Year Run
The space has a long history on the Upper West Side. The Emerald Inn opened on Columbus Avenue during World War II. Owner Charlie Campbell closed the bar on December 3, 2025, after 82 years in business, after it fell behind on rent and taxes as sales dropped.
Accounts differ on Campbell's place in the family's history behind the bar: iLovetheUpperWestSide.com described him as the Emerald Inn's third-generation owner, while West Side Rag had earlier called him the fourth generation of his family to run it. The bar had faced a brush with closure once before — a 2013 New York Times City Room report said the Emerald Inn was closing after 70 years, with Campbell noting that renewing the lease would have raised the monthly rent to $35,000 from $17,500 under a 2011 deal.
A Second Act for the Cantina's Founders
Joe Kidd Cantina isn't Flattery's first venture on the Upper West Side. He was previously an owner of The Avenue, a bar at Amsterdam Avenue and West 83rd Street where he also tended bar and developed much of the menu. The Avenue opened in May 2023 but closed in August 2024. Flattery is also a partner in Joe Kidd Cantina with Fitzpatrick and Hollywood, the Western-themed concept now open on West 72nd Street.
