The Bed-Stuy Bar Owner Who Out-Riffed Conan on SubwayTakes
Drinks with Debbie Shields, the Confessions owner who kept pace with Conan O'Brien on SubwayTakes, plus a comedy bar nearby.
📍 Marcus Garvey to Patchen Avenue
🚇 The Subway Riff Behind Confessions
In the SubwayTakes episode released October 20, host Kareem Rahma asked Conan O'Brien whether he knew the woman next to him. Conan called her his ex-wife, and Debbie Shields, a 68-year-old Bed-Stuy bar owner, answered on the spot: two kids, one in medical school and one in jail. The bit ran close to two minutes. Her bar is Confessions at 333 Marcus Garvey Boulevard, named for her own line that the more people drink, the more they confess. She hosts comedy and karaoke nights there, and doors open at 4:30 PM Tuesday through Saturday.
🎤 Stand-Up Wednesdays at Marian's
For a second round of laughs, Marian's Brooklyn on Patchen Avenue keeps comedy on the calendar, with stand-up every other Wednesday in a small back-room performance space. Thursdays bring a jazz jam and Fridays bring trivia, while the front room pours draft beer, wine and custom drinks with casual bar bites. Doors open at 4:00 PM daily, and Wine Wednesday takes half off selected wines.
🔗 Where the Crowd Is the Show
Both bars treat the room as part of the act. Catch a stand-up Wednesday at Marian's, then walk over to Confessions, where the owner's timing has now been tested against Conan on camera. Bring a one-liner. Shields says whatever gets kicked to her, she kicks back, and Conan has already put in his request for free drinks. Confessions stays open until midnight on Wednesdays.
