When I meet Threats frontman Jack Ridley III at his practice space on Rivington, he is drinking a Corona and smoking a hand-rolled cig. It’s a derelict building, decorated with haphazard graffiti, located adjacent to Welcome to the Johnsons, where Jack tends bar a few nights a week.
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welcome to the johnsons
Welcome to… The Johnsons, in Bushwick
After a long summer of waiting, The Johnsons (Bushwick outpost of Welcome to The Johnsons) finally opened this past weekend.
With its white tiled bar, fake plants, wood accents, and tribal art, The Johnsons bears little resemblance to the den of iniquity that is its Lower East Side sister. This feels more like an adult take on the tiki bar: a little funk, but no over the top kitsch.
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Welcome to Bushwick, Welcome to the Johnsons!

Max Fish isn’t the only Lower East Side bar that’s Brooklyn bound. Welcome to the Johnsons is opening a sister spot in Bushwick. Unlike the Rivington Street den of depravity, it’ll be called simply The Johnsons. But don’t worry – it’ll still be welcoming. More so than the scruffy original, it could be argued, since it’s about four times the size.
The offshoot, at 369 Troutman Street, will feature an open-air patio that’ll be in full swing till closing time, said owner Lisa Gartner, who also co-owns Sweet Paradise on the Lower East Side.
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