Bernard Pub

The Bernard Pub hosted more punk rock shows than any place in the St. Louis area. The building at 4063 Lafayette had been around for at least half a century when the Peppes family purchased it in 1952 when it housed a confectionery, a cleaner, a beauty parlor, and four upstairs apartments. In the 1970s Bill Peppes, known to a generation of punks as Bill Bernard, opened a bar and grill featuring blues/rock musicians such as local legend Rockin’ Robin, whose silhouette graced the side door for decades. On July 18, 1980, after searching for a place for local punk bands to play, Anti-mation and Surgery played the first punk show at The Bernard Pub. For the next decade Bernard’s hosted everyone from Agnostic Front, Henry Rollins, Fugazi, 7 Seconds, Social Distortion, SNFU, MDC, Warzone, and UK Subs. At some point John Green came on board and booked nearly every local punk band in St. Louis on famously packed bills. By the end of the decade the neighborhood was too dangerous to continuing booking shows. In 1990 Bill closed the club and John Green opened a new Bernard Pub at 214 Morgan on Laclede's Landing. The building on Lafayette stood empty until February 4, 1995 when a single engine plane crashed through the roof. Luckily no one in the plane or on the ground were injured. The damage was so severe that Bill had to have the building razed. An empty lot is all that is left of the club today.

Detail provided by Tony Cornejo, Don Hollenbeck, Tim Jamison, and members of the Archive of St. Louis Punk Discussion Group.

Bernard Pub Punk Rock Raid Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/621460647922917/

Bernard Pub Flyers

https://www.flickr.com/search/?group_id=669046%40N23&view_all=1&text=bernard