'Music Nut' John Varvatos To Retain CBGB Stage Presence

DNR is reporting that fashion designer John Varvatos' new boutique in the former CBGB space on the Bowery will feature "a permanent stage, which will be home to a new-artist performance series."

The live music component is part of Mr. Varvatos' self-described effort "to honor what [CBGB] was, instead of seeing it turn into a deli or a bank or whatever."

Mr. Varvatos isn't so nostaglic for the old punk club to restore its famously seedy, smelly, graffiti-strewn restrooms, however.

“The bathrooms are something that will just stay in all of our memory,” he said.