Rue-B Jazz Club Survives the Pandemic But Closes After 20+ Years

Miss Maybell & the Jazz Age Artistes at Rue-B on June 1

Rue-B, a storefront jazz club at 188 Avenue B since 1999, survived the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A year and a half after lockdown, Rue-B has closed due to failed lease negotiations. The owner and his staff emptied the venue on October 18.

"Business was not going so well before the pandemic," Michael Camacho, the owner of the Rue-B since 2014, told The Manhattan Beat in an exclusive interview. "Then the pandemic hit in March 2020, and we were forced to close our business temporarily."

The Luc Moutin Trio at Rue-B on September 8

The Faron Tillson Trio at Rue-B on July 14

In the ensuing weeks, Camacho invested in a curbside shed and, on June 15, Rue-B was among the first restaurants in New York City to book musicians again. Local talent including Benny Benack, Stacy Dillard, Miss Maybell & the Jazz Age Artistes, Grady Tesch, Erica Mancini and others performed nightly inside by the window for customers dining outside in the shed. The venue began recovering from lost income, and musicians were getting gigs.

"Business improved when we reopened," Camacho continued. "At this time last year, business was good. We wanted to expand the business into the storefront next door which had been empty for five years, construct a connecting hallway and have full use of the back yard. My lawyers and the landlord settled on an agreement in October 2020. Due to the moratorium on evictions, we did not pay rent, waiting for the landlord to sign the agreement. The landlord reneged on the agreement and did not sign the contract. A year later, realizing that we were not getting what we agreed, we closed the entire operation."

Grady Tesch and his band Momentum at Rue-B in July

Axel Barragan at Rue-B on May 16

The state gradually eased dining and entertainment restrictions in April and then again in June, and the local restaurant industry came out of COVID hibernation,. Camacho noted. The public had more options for music and dining. Business at Rue-B was not as lucrative anymore.

"Business tailed off," said Camacho. "In the beginning, the state required that people had to buy food. When the restrictions were lifted, people stopped buying food, which impacted our business."

Stacy Dillard (far left) at Rue-B on April 20

Natalie de Ferrari & Bossa Nova NYC at Rue-B on April 1

Camacho moved the musicians further into the room so that they could play for both indoor and outdoor audiences. Business did not increase significantly. The space where nationally-known jazz musicians like Francois Moutin and Paul Bollenbeck had played was coming to an end.

"For the past seven years, I put all my heart, soul, creativity, finances and music history into Rue-B," concluded Camacho, who earlier in life was a budding entertainer and enjoyed commercial success with a hit single, "Let's Go All the Way," in the mid-1980s as half of the pop duo Sly Fox. While operating the club, he sometimes sat in with the musicians, even singing a capella doo-wop with the Blue Moons.

"I and my staff are sorry to disappoint our community by closing Rue-B," Camacho concluded. "Maybe, if I find the right space at a reasonable rent, I might open a new Rue-B on the Lower East Side."

Rue-B's sidewalk sign on closing night, October 17

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. All photographs are by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of upcoming concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's October 2021 calendar.