So long to another Lower East Side live-music venue.
R Bar, a reliable spot to watch bands and burlesque shows, has closed for good. (We can't say much for the bar at other times.)
As we understand it, the bar at 218 Bowery just south of Prince closed without much warning earlier in the week… at least without much warning to employees. There isn't any mention of the closure on the R Bar website or social media properties. However, the phone line is no longer in service.
There is an approved permit on file for an interior renovation.
One person familiar with the situation here said that the bar will return as an "overpriced yuppified euro-trash hellhole."
The former R Bar will return as Rebelle, a new restaurant from some of the partners involved with Pearl & Ash next door. Rebelle's chef comes from Spring, a restaurant in the Ninth Arrondissement of Paris.
