Cake Shop was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

music venue, bar, and cafe in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of Manhattan that opened in 2005. Located at 152 Ludlow Street between

Stanton Street Stanton Street is a west-to-east street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the neighborhood of the Lower East Side. The street begins at the Bowery in the west and runs east to a dead end past Pitt Street, adjacent to Hamilton Fish Pa ...

and

Rivington Street Rivington Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which runs across the Lower East Side neighborhood, between the Bowery and Pitt Street, with a break between Chrystie and Forsyth for Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Vehicular traffi ...

, Cake Shop offered a full bar and records for sale, but it was best known as a rock club, hosting new and upcoming bands, as well as established acts almost nightly in its basement. Considered a crucial stop on the national tour circuit, Cake Shop was regarded as one of the few venues left in Manhattan open to hosting "independent underground pop music" produced by bands considered too limited in appeal to perform elsewhere. Co-owner Nick Bodor referred to Cake Shop's booking policy as follows: “We are not going to book something unless we believe it’s at least interesting.” Established groups like

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, ...

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, and

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were an American indie pop band from New York City, formed in 2007. The band centered around founding member and principal songwriter Kip Berman (vocals, guitar). In the band's final iteration, Berman was joined ...

have credited Cake Shop with helping them kickstart their respective music careers. Due to rising costs associated with the neighborhood's gentrification and issues of sustainability related to the venue's "long running" business model, the owners decided to close at the end of 2016. Cakeshop's final week was marked by nightly shows and special events. December 31, 2016 was Cakeshop's final night in operation.

References

External links

Cake Shop Official Site

Cape Shok MySpace Page

Zagat
Lower East Side Nightclubs in Manhattan Drinking establishments in Manhattan Music venues in Manhattan {{music-venue-stub