 Alvin Reid, Sr. purchased it in 1988 and restored the original Art Deco interior from September 1999 to March 2000, during the only closure in the bar's history.The Lenox Lounge was voted "Best of the Best" by the 2002 "Zagat Survey Nightlife Guide" and by the 2001 "New York Magazine".In 2012, a rent increase threatened to shutter the establishment.