Above: A recent photo shows the progress inside Layla's Bar at 46 Beard Street in Brooklyn.

Below: Two exterior shots of the space at the corner of Beard and Dwight St. Owner Neil Ganic will also open a restaurant called La Bouillabaisse next door.

As reported by Eater last week, the Red Hook, Brooklyn, spot once known as Lillie's is slated to soft open early next month as Layla's Bar, followed by the hard opening circa January 2008. Owner/chef-about-Brooklyn Neil Ganic will also open La Boulliabaisse next door.

"That bar was under two wood layers of remodeling. The restoration took months to save the original bar," says Layla's interior designer, Glen Kinnaird, who contacted us with the info last week. Across the street from the also soon-to-open Ikea store, Layla's will feature comedy shows, big-name music shows and other attractions. Some of the backers are music industry vets (and own an unnamed but well-known guitar retailer), so it's no surprise that a red carpet, star-studded event is planned for the bar's debut some weeks from now.

Scenes from the Evan Rachel Wood film "Across the Universe" were apparently shot in the space, and another film is slated to shoot there for the entire month of January--$20 says it's the screen adaptation of J.R. Moehringer's popular memoir, "The Tender Bar."

Layla's Bar
718-643-1500
(No message service until Nov. 11)
46 Beard St.
Brooklyn, NY

(Photos by Anthony Deprimo)