The doors have been closed at Brooklyn’s bastion of all things metal/hardcore: the Saint Vitus Bar. Founders for the establishment announced the apparent permanent closure on social media yesterday, August 17th, stating:
“1120 Manhattan Ave. 2011-2024
Saint Vitus Bar to be continued…Thank you to everyone who was a part of it.
Love and Hails,
Arty, George, David”
The long-running establishment had been temporarily closed since February of this year, when the NYC Department Of Buildings shut the club down during a set from Mindforce. That temporary closure was enforced after the venue allegedly violated several building codes.
Among the violations cited as the reason for the closure were a lack of maximum occupancy signs, allegedly repeatedly going over their allotted maximum capacity, and operating as an eating/drinking establishing without the proper certification to do so.
This GoFundMe campaign was launched to aid staff affected by the closure soon afterwards, with St. Vitus pivoting to helping promote events at other venues in the Brooklyn, NY area in the time since since.
The below social media post from the establishment finds a wealth of established metal musicians lamenting the closure of the venue in the comments, including Anthrax‘s Scott Ian, Suicidal Tendencies‘ Jay Weinberg, Origin, Khemmis and many more. As hinted at in the venue’s post however, it would appear there is still a potential future for the brand/venue.