CBGB to Reopen as Restaurant in Newark Airport

The famous New York City punk outpost CBGB & OMFUG, where Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads and many others cut their teeth and sullied its notoriously disgusting bathroom, closed in 2006. But now it will get a second life, nearly a decade later as … an airport restaurant.

The club, which will be rechristened the CBGB L.A.B. (Lounge and Bar) will serve “American fare in a fun environment recalling the legendary music venue,” Gothamist reports. The first location will open in New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport at a yet-to-be-revealed date and it will be helmed by chef Harold Moore, who runs the comparatively upscale New York City eatery Commerce.

CBGB L.A.B. will serve everything from $9.00 Disco Fries to a $42.00 Prime Rib, according to a menu posted online by East Orange, New Jersey radio station WFMU. It even features Harold’s World Famous Chili on the menu, a nod to club owner Hilly Kristal’s chili concoctions. Other items the L.A.B. will offer include crispy chicken paillard, seared togarashi tuna and matzo ball soup; diners can order birthday cake for dessert.

CBGB’s Reopening! At Newark Airport: ht @readmyback pic.twitter.com/m9Ay6VaI8j

— WFMU (@WFMU) December 21, 2015

CBGB’s opened in December of 1973 by Hilly Kristal, whose original intention was for the club to feature country, bluegrass and blues artists (e.g., “C.B.G.B.”). Nevertheless, the venue quickly became a breeding ground for New York’s punk and new-wave scene. On October 17th, 2006, shortly after 1 a.m., Patti Smith’s band played the venue’s final concert.

Kristal died in 2007, and his family became tangled in legal battles over the estate. In 2008, clothing designer John Varvatos took over the space and turned it into a retail store. In 2013, a movie tracing the history of the club was released, and in recent years New York City has hosted CBGB Festival, which Jane’s Addiction headlined in 2014.