Once upon a time, New York City was home to a hole in the wall spot that in its heyday nurtured a fledgling punk rock scene. The legendary CBGB’s, a place where bands such as The Ramones and The Talking Heads cut their teeth, lost their lease and shut their doors for good back in October of 2006. Club owner Hilly Kristal fought a long fight, but with increased rent and the continued battle with the Bowery Residents Committee, CBGB’s had to close. Then in 2007, Kristal lost his battle with lung cancer, passing away at 75.
With the end of an era in NYC, we were curious who would eventually take over 315 Bowery. Well, it is now a clothing shop called the Josh Varvatos Boutique. MTV News and Racked both have pictures from their visits to the new store, where “rail-thin models” have replaced the “aged gutter punks” that used to hang out at that address.
Racked has even more coverage, where they describe the location as a place for “fans of leather and false nostalgia.” They continue: “The space has been remade in a faux-punk ethic, with walls adorned with vintage concert poster reproductions; a section dramatically demonstrating the evolution of what used to be called A/V equipment; plenty of guitars, drumsets, and amps; and even bins of vinyl up front for browsing and buying.”
We discovered a comment on Idolator that compared the boutique to a high end Hot Topic. We can only assume that Kristal is rolling over in his grave at this very moment.
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