Openings

Luna Lounge Owner Opens Music-Minded Neighborhood Spot, Satellite Lounge

Rob Sacher — who owned Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street before moving it to Williamsburg and then leasing the space to the Knitting Factory, which is expected to open this summer — has soft-opened Satellite Lounge in Williamsburg. He describes it, in the humblest of terms, as a neighborhood bar, and insists there’s nothing really special about it, though there are three pinball games and foosball might be coming. What’ll draw people to the venue, located in an old hardware store, is his connection with local musicians — TV on the Radio drummer Jaleel Bunton has already popped in, and Longwave threw an after-party there after last week’s Webster Hall show. “I love being in Williamsburg for the same reason I loved being on Ludlow Street in 1995,” says Sacher. “There were 30,000 musicians on the block.”

In fact, Sacher says his new bar looks more or less like the first Luna Lounge, without the back room. No, there won’t be live music, but he’s keeping the dream alive. “Right now my emphasis is on opening up bars in the neighborhood — maybe if possible opening up one or two more in the next years. I would like to do another live-music venue, but it’s getting harder and harder to find the right spot. There’s a political process that’s getting more and more difficult to deal with.” So for now, you’ll have to be content with pinball and a $5 beer-and-shot special.

Satellite Lounge, 143 Havemeyer St., nr. S 2nd St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Luna Lounge Owner Opens Music-Minded Neighborhood Spot, Satellite Lounge