It ain’t no party at CBGB anymore – the shuttered punk palace on The Bowery has been leased to trendy fashion designer John Varvados.
“We’re going in by the spring, hopefully in March,” said a Varvatos Co. employee.
News that a chic boutique is coming to an area that recently has added a hotel, a bank, a Starbucks and a Whole Foods surprised few on the once-seedy strip.
But musician Bill Popp, who played CBGB from 1981 until its closing last year, mourned the Bowery’s turn for the purse.
“Now it’s going to become a contrived type of store, with prices only for the yuppies who are taking over the neighborhood,” he lamented.
Still unclear is how much of the 13,000 square feet Varvatos will occupy.