The Irish bar based in Manhattan won The World’s 50 Best Bars in 2016 and had been planning to expand its venue into the neighbouring building.
"It's just a mess," Muldoon told the Belfast Telegraph. "The damage is confined to the back of the building.
"The kitchen's destroyed, the bathrooms have been damaged, along with the basement. The bar area itself looks OK, but with the sprinkler system there is water damage.”
The bar employs 46 staff and was first established in 2013. Muldoon together with Jack McGarry also own New York bar Black Tail, which opened in 2016.
Many, many thanks to everyone all over the word who has sent us messages of support. It’s truly appreciated. Things are difficult for us now, and there will no doubt be more difficulties ahead. But we’ll be back. After all, The Dead Rabbit was born in a hurricane. pic.twitter.com/O7jh1B16fO
— The Dead Rabbit NYC (@DeadRabbitNYC) 2 July 2018
"Thankfully, staff had switched off the gas supply, which ensured that what could have been a much worse situation was averted,” added Muldoon.
"The bar's in a 200-year-old building and fires are reported every single day in New York, and it's always in the back of your mind that one day it might happen - and now it has.
"How much damage has been done is not yet clear. But we opened in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, so we can overcome this.
"The bar will bounce back. If the Fire Department is done with their investigation, we could be back to serving drinks in a week.”
