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When Jay-Z opened the doors to his 40/40 Club back in 2003, it was an immediate hit with the good people of New York and his celebrity pals alike. But alas, all good things come to an end. After two decades of good times, the 40/40 Club will now be closing up shop… kinda.
Eater New York is reporting that the club that was once the place to be will be shutting down its Midtown Manhattan location and popping back up elsewhere come 2024. The move comes a decade after the 40/40 Club underwent a $10 million renovation to help it compete with the newer clubs that were all the rage in the Big Apple. But like all things Hip-Hop, the newer generation tends to gravitate to the latest and more spectacular show in town.
Eater New York reports:
Over time, the 40/40 Club grew into a small chain of bars and restaurants. There were five at peak: The original in Flatiron, a sports lounge in Las Vegas, a club in Atlantic City, a bar at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, and a restaurant at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Las Vegas location closed in 2008, a year after opening, and its Atlantic City club followed in 2013: A lawsuit claimed the company owed more than $115,000 in unpaid rent and other charges.
The 40/40 Club at Barclays Center remains open following the Manhattan closure, according to Jake Spitz, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn arena.
This isn’t the only hospitality project Jay-Z has been a part of in New York City. The rapper was formerly involved with the West Village restaurant the Spotted Pig before it closed in 2020. His real estate company, SCC Greenwich Realty, sold its longtime home for $7.5 million in 2022.
If we’ve learned nothing else it’s that Jay-Z will cut his losses in search of the next and bigger bag.
No word on where Jay-Z may open up the new and surely improved 40/40 Club, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in close proximity to that casino he’s trying to bring to Times Square. The man didn’t become a billionaire just by selling records, b.
What do y’all think? Where should the next 40/40 Club open up? Should it get a name change too? Let us know in the comments section below.
