Spirit of CBGB lives on in clothing store

NEW YORK, April 7 (UPI) -- Designer John Varvatos said he wants to keep the spirit of CBGB alive in the new boutique he created on the former site of the famed New York punk rock club.

The new retail store opened in the Bowery during the weekend. It took over the space that once saw performances by Blondie and the Ramones.

The New York Post said the stage has been replaced by a tailoring shop encased with gold Alice Cooper records, while the club's iconic sticker- and poster-covered walls remain intact and preserved behind glass.

"I wanted to combine music, fashion, memorabilia and really make it like a cultural space," Varvatos told The Post. "I want (people) to come in here and feel like, 'Wow, this is really cool. I can still feel it, I can still smell it, I can still get that aura.'"

"I like it. I'm relieved," said Arturo Vega, creative director for the Ramones, who lives in the neighborhood.

"We were expecting a drug store in the space," Vega told the Post. "So when I found out it was Varvatos moving in, it was a relief."