Greenpoint metal bar Saint Vitus is closed for good

Popular Brooklyn metal bar Saint Vitus has closed in Greenpoint for good.

The rock club’s owners posted an epitaph of sorts on Instagram Saturday night, along with a photo showing them sitting on the abandoned stage. Spray painted on a wall behind them was the venue’s lifespan, “2011 - 2024,” beside a pentagram.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the many metalheads who have likened the venue to a heavy CBGB. “Saint Vitus Bar to be continued…Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. Love and Hails,” the owners wrote.

In February, city officials shut down the venue during the middle of a set by the band Mindforce. The move followed dozens of complaints to the city that the venue didn’t have the proper permits to host big rock shows, Gothamist reported.

Agency spokesperson Andrew Rudansky previously said Saint Vitus was operating as an “illegal eating and drinking establishment” in a space that was only to be used “for a commercial store and for the storage of machinery.”

Department of Buildings records show open violations at the location related to an improper certificate of occupancy. In an email on Friday, Rudansky said the agency had approved plans for a new certificate of occupancy at the venue's Manhattan Avenue address in April, but that the club owners and contractors had not requested work permits to bring the space into compliance.

Saint Vitus opened in 2011 in Greenpoint.

Council member Keith Powers, a regular at the club, said the owners had told him "a lot of capital improvements" were necessary before the club could reopen.

“I think ultimately they decided it was better to pick up and start somewhere new,” he said.

Powers called the closure "devastating."

“Many of my friends’ bands have played there. So collectively, a lot of us...are feeling quite upset about the loss,” he said.

Rumors swirled online that the club had been targeted by someone nursing a grudge. Councilmember Justin Brannan – who is a member of the hardcore band Most Precious Blood – said earlier this year that the closure had “an element of weaponization of the 311 system, which is a real problem.”

John McKinney, a bass and guitar player who played in several metal bands at Saint Vitus, called the venue “holy grounds” for extreme music in New York City. As the news trickled out Saturday he drove to the club to “see it with my own eyes.” There were flowers outside the building. An inverted cross in a window was missing, and a door handle at the entrance had been removed. McKinney, an 18-year resident of the city, encountered a guy he said was wearing a black shirt with an “unintelligible band logo.” They snapped photos of each other “in front of the grave, I guess the memorial,” McKinney recalled.

In the aftermath of the closure, owner Dave Castillo told Gothamist the staff were working to reopen. Since then, the group has been booking shows under the banner “Saint Vitus Presents” at various venues around the city.

When Saint Vitus opened in 2011, the owners declared: "Finally, Greenpoint has a real f---ing ROCK BAR!" The name of the bar is a reference to a Black Sabbath song, which itself was named after a neurological disorder that can cause involuntary movements and loss of emotional control, such as random crying and laughing.

"All three of us are musicians, so we designed this place to be a musician's dream," co-owner Justin Scurti told Gothamist at the time.

The club hosted iconic shows over the years. In 2014, after Nirvana was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the surviving members played a secret show the night of the ceremony at Saint Vitus along with a cadre of special guests that included Joan Jett, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and J. Mascis of Dinosaur, Jr.

Council member Lincoln Restler, who represents the district where the club was located, said Saint Vitus would be sorely missed.

“I've had lots of great nights enjoying live music at Saint Vitus, even performing some live band karaoke,” he said.

Restler said he was surprised by the announcement Saturday. He said he’d had recent conversations with the owners that led him to believe they were on track to come into compliance with city regulations.

“I'm disappointed that we weren't able to find a path forward for Saint Vitus to keep on in our community because it really is a terrific spot,” he said.

The club owners have said the process of reopening was moving slowly due to “multiple” city agencies. In a March 2024 Instagram post they wrote: “Unfortunately, we do not have a definitive answer on how long it will take us to reopen.”

“But we’re dedicated to figuring it out to come back stronger than ever,” they said.