Hey do you guys remember CBGBs, the infamous and legendary punk rock club located in the Bowery district of New York City? Remember when Hilly Kristal, the club’s owner, was fighting with his landlords, a homeless advocacy group, over rent increases and stuff? The Reverend remembers that when the group began eviction proceedings against CBGB, they said that they needed the space to provide services to the homeless. Remember that? Well, both the New York Post and British music magazine New Music Express is reporting that the space that once held CBGB is re-opening…not as a music venue, nor as a service center for the Big Apple’s homeless population…but rather as a high-end fashion boutique.

Designer John Varvatos has signed a deal to occupy the former CBGB space with plans to open the store in March. Varvatos, who has used punk icon Iggy Pop for his ad campaigns, is no stranger to exploiting youth culture for his own profit and probably likes the idea of opening a retail store at the site of the former punk mecca. I guess that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Varvatos is more than likely paying a much higher rent than the former tenant, perhaps something the homeless advocacy group envisioned when they booted Kristal and CBGB to the curb last October.