Beloved Brooklyn metal venue Saint Vitus has permanently closed.
The New York bar – which has previously held concerts by Megadeth, Anthrax, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Coheed And Cambria and such non-metal names as Blink-182 and a partially reunited Nirvana – announced its closing in an Instagram post Sunday (August 18).
“1120 Manhattan Ave. 2011-2024. Saint Vitus Bar to be continued… Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. 🍻” read a statement signed by the bar’s founders, George Souleidis and Arty Shepherd, and booking manager David Castillo.
Variety reports that the statement’s “to be continued…” is a reference to the owners’ plan to host future Saint Vitus-endorsed shows at other New York City venues. It also reports that the owners may later reopen Saint Vitus in a new location.
Saint Vitus was shut down by New York’s Department Of Buildings (DOB) in February, during a crossover thrash show. The closing, initially expected to be temporary, was in response to a local complaint about multiple alleged infractions from the bar, such as operating without maximum occupancy signs. The venue also allegedly did not have the legal authority to be an “eating and drinking establishment”.
LIHCshows, promoter of the concert that was occurring when Saint Vitus was initially closed, said the complaint and shutdown “seemed like a personal vendetta [and] attack on the venue”.
Saint Vitus was opened in 2011 and quickly became a go-to spot for heavy metal fans and artists in the Brooklyn area and beyond. Arguably its greatest claim to fame is hosting Nirvana’s 2014 one-night-only comeback, where surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic performed with stand-in frontpeople including Joan Jett, St Vincent and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon. Thrash metal icons Megadeth and Anthrax have both played secret shows at the venue, as well.
Saint Vitus also hosted non-concert events, such as book events by ex-Sex Pistols singer John Lydon and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.
