{"id":69960,"date":"2025-12-13T19:22:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T19:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69960\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T19:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T19:22:13","slug":"after-30-years-swing-46s-john-akhtar-passes-the-baton-but-says-im-not-done-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69960\/","title":{"rendered":"After 30 Years, Swing 46\u2019s John Akhtar Passes the Baton \u2014 But Says \u201cI\u2019m Not Done Yet\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I walked into Swing 46 on Restaurant Row on Thursday afternoon, John Akhtar was already in motion \u2014 hands raised, eyes bright, on his head the distinctive hat that regulars have come to recognize across three decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JohnSwing 46 owner John Akhtar is leaving Restaurant Row behind at the end of the year. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Before I even asked a question, he told me exactly how this interview was going to go. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be emotional,\u201d he said with a grin. And it was. There was laughter, long breaths, goosebumps that he pointed out that he was feeling \u2014 and moments where he paused to hold back tears.<\/p>\n

This winter marks the end of an era: Swing 46 will close at the end of 2025, with jazz impresario Spike Wilner (Smalls<\/a>, Mezzrow<\/a>) taking the reins and reopening a club in the space in spring 2026. But spending an afternoon with John makes one thing clear \u2014 this story isn\u2019t about closure. It\u2019s about legacy, devotion and a man whose love for swing runs deeper than the stage he built for it.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s journey to becoming the guardian of swing music in New York and Hell\u2019s Kitchen starts far away. He was born in Bangladesh, spent time in the UK visiting friends, and eventually came to Texas for college. But a summer break changed everything. On his way back to school, he stopped in New York City to see someone \u2014 and the city claimed him instantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to New York to visit a friend, and I just fell in love with the place,\u201d he said. \u201cI cancelled my return ticket. I knew this was my home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DanJohn Akhtar (not pictured) was a manager at Dan Lynch\u2019s West bar at W38th Street and 9th Avenue back in the 1990s. Photo: Rich Johnson\/Facebook<\/p>\n

From that moment, he immersed himself in New York\u2019s music rooms \u2014 Delta blues at Dan Lynch\u2019s, Chicago blues, punk at CBGB, anything with soul, edge, or electricity. He became a bartender at Dan Lynch\u2019s Hell\u2019s Kitchen location on W38th Street and 10th Avenue, then a manager, then the one booking the bands. <\/p>\n

He recalls it being a gritty location: \u201cThe story was that the Westies came in and they shot the register because somebody pissed them off.\u201d The bullet holes were still there when he managed the place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the swing and rhythm that attracted him, not the grit. \u201cMusic grabbed me,\u201d he said, sweeping his hands through the air. \u201cI was mesmerized.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the mid-1990s, his girlfriend (soon to become wife) Judith had picked up a Sunday night bartending shift at a supper club on W46th Street \u2014 the old Red Blazer Too, owned by Denis Carey<\/a>. John would sit quietly at the back, waiting for her, nursing a drink and falling deeper into the sound of the big band that played there each week.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

\"Red
\nBefore it was Swing 46, the venue was The Red Blazer Too, run by Denis Carey. Business Card and Menu Photos: Celia Biscoe<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was different,\u201d he remembered. \u201cNot punk, not rock \u2014 swing. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday. I wanted to learn everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the turning point. The owner didn\u2019t want to sign a new lease after a steep rent hike. John and Judith didn\u2019t have the capital to buy the place \u2014 not even close \u2014 but they had absolute belief. They stayed up all night at their kitchen table writing a pitch to the building owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had nothing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our dream was so vivid. We told him, \u2018Give us a chance \u2014 you\u2019ll never be sorry.\u2019 And somehow\u2026 we closed the deal.\u201d\u00a0John and Judith are no longer married, but remain friends. <\/p>\n

Swing 46 was born, and the name came to him instantly. \u201cI love the word \u2018swing.\u2019 And it\u2019s on 46th Street \u2014 Swing 46. It came from my heart,\u201d he recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So did the entire build-out. He redesigned the room for live music, elevating the band so audiences could see and feel the energy. He committed to big bands \u2014 17 and 18 musicians \u2014 on nights when other clubs wouldn\u2019t dare. And he built something more than a venue: a place where people danced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted anyone stiff,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted people to smile. To move.\u201d<\/p>\n

That commitment nearly cost him the club. Under the old New York City Cabaret Laws<\/a>, officials tried to shut down Swing 46 in the early 2000s for allowing dancing without the proper license.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted to fine me $4,000 a day,\u201d he said. \u201cI took it all the way to City Hall. Swing dancing is American heritage. I wasn\u2019t going to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JohnSwing 46 owner John Akhter and manager\/performer Sarah Hayes raise a glass to Swing 46. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

He won. Dancing stayed.<\/p>\n

Night after night, between sets, Swing 46 has been teaching people how to swing dance \u2014 complete beginners, tourists, locals, everyone. The club grew into a community: proposals on the dance floor, marriages, couples returning 15 years later with their kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Swing 46 wasn\u2019t just a jazz room \u2014 it was a living archive of America\u2019s social dance traditions. The club became a home for Lindy Hop, the Harlem-born style co-created by the legendary Frankie Manning<\/a>. Manning was a regular, and Swing 46 is where he danced for the very last time. As John told us, \u201cFrankie loved it here \u2014 this was his favorite place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And then there was the tap dancing. For nearly a decade, every Sunday night, Swing 46 hosted New York\u2019s longest-running open tap jam, first led by tap giant Buster Brown<\/a> and later by Stumpy (Harold J Cromer)<\/a>. The stage became a gathering spot for some of the art form\u2019s greatest names \u2014 Savion Glover, Omar Edwards, Samuels Smith, even Gregory Hines. \u201cWe\u2019d put down the tap floor and the place would fill with tappers,\u201d John recalled. \u201cTheir mothers would come, their friends would come \u2014 everybody wanted to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FrankieGlass cases display around the room display Swing 46 memorabilia \u2014 including this photo of Frankie Manning with a young John Akhtar. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place\u2026 people got engaged here. Married here. They come back decades later,\u201d he said softly. \u201cI\u2019ve met so many beautiful human beings. I am blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But behind every joyful night was the burden of a one-man operation. Rent climbed from $15,000 to $36,000 a month. Costs rose. Musicians needed to be paid nightly. Insurance, inflation, Restaurant Row\u2019s struggles \u2014 all of it fell on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the sole proprietor. Everything goes through me,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter 30 years, the pressure became overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the reason he\u2019s stepping away now isn\u2019t financial. \u201cIt\u2019s not about the money,\u201d he insisted. \u201cI just need a break.\u201d After three decades of running a club that never truly slept, he\u2019s ready for the things he\u2019s put off: long trips to see his siblings in Australia, Sweden and Canada; unhurried time with family he\u2019s barely been able to visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/p>\n

\"Swing
\nThe history of Swing 46 on Restaurant Row. Photos: Swing 46: The Last Swingin Supper Club<\/p>\n

Choosing a successor wasn\u2019t easy. He refused to let Swing 46 become anything other than a home for music. \u201cI wasn\u2019t giving it to just anybody,\u201d he said. \u201cIf someone wanted to make it a French or Italian restaurant \u2014 no. Only the right person.\u201d<\/p>\n

That right person was Spike Wilner. \u201cGod sent,\u201d John said, smiling. \u201cHe will keep the music going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spike will renovate the club in early 2026, reopen in the spring, and carry the torch into its next era. John will stay nearby at first \u2014 \u201cI know where all the wires are buried,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s tenure on Restaurant Row will culminate on New Year\u2019s Eve \u2014 the final night Swing 46\u2019s doors will open under John\u2019s watch. It will be less a farewell than a thank-you, a room full of musicians, staff, regulars and longtime friends gathered one last time beneath the lights. \u201cThis is the finale,\u201d John said. \u201cMany people will be my guests. I owe them so much\u201d \u2014 and then, finally, he will take a well-earned rest.<\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/a>A sketch of Swing 46 on Restaurant Row. Illustration: John Donohue\/AllTheRestaurants<\/a><\/p>\n

But not retire. He\u2019s kept the ownership of Swing 46 itself \u2014 the corporation, the name, the history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not done yet,\u201d John said. \u201cIn two years \u2014 at most \u2014 you\u2019ll see me again. Bigger space, bigger bands. Seven nights a week.\u201d He\u2019s thinking Harlem or the Upper West Side \u2014 but Hell\u2019s Kitchen has a long memory, and it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if its rhythm brings him, and the music, right back here.<\/p>\n

Swing 46 remains open through the end of the year. You can still experience live big band jazz, dancing and the club\u2019s final New Year\u2019s Eve under John Akhtar\u2019s watch. For upcoming shows, reservations and ticket information, visit swing46.nyc<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I walked into Swing 46 on Restaurant Row on Thursday afternoon, John Akhtar was already in motion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,5406,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-69960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nostalgia","14":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}