Here's hoping Lola's faded feathers are still in her hair—The Copacabana is coming back! This July, possibly earlier, the club most people still connect with Barry Manilow will be back in town with its own venue (as opposed to hosting parties in other venues)—nearly four years after its last incarnation shut up shop.
The most recent Copa in town was a three-story replica of the original at 34th Street and 11th that the city condemned as part of the the 7 train extension. The new Copa will be something different, living inside the old China Club space at 268 W. 47th Street. It'll be a three-story affair with dining on the first floor, the supper and dancing club Calle Ocho (which currently is on 84th and Columbus Avenue) working the second floor and the Copa itself on the third floor. That top floor will also include a hydraulic roof that "can be opened on nice nights." Update: Whoops, we misunderstood. Though Calle Ocho is moving, it isn't moving into the second floor of the new Copacabana. That is where the 125-seat Copacabana Supper Club will be located with Alex Garcia (also the chef at Calle Ocho) running the kitchen.
The return of the nightlife classic is refreshing in an age when it seems like beloved venues have been closing left and right. It will be interesting to see if the fourth Copa to open in 70 years will be a hit—since from what we understand the original really was once "the hottest place north of Havana."
And speaking of that Manilow classic, we've always been partial to the Liza/Muppets version. The Muppet Show could get dark!
