Peter Gatien

Peter Gatien (born August 8, 1952) is a Canadian club owner and party promoter. He is best known as the former owner of several New York nightclubs, including The Limelight, Palladium, Club USA, and Tunnel. He was once dubbed as the "King of New York Clubs", during his time in New York City.

Life and career

Gatien was born in Cornwall, Ontario, the third of five brothers. His first business venture was a jeans store in his home town, which he opened with a $13,000 settlement after he lost an eye in a hockey accident. After that, he turned a former country western bar into a rock club called Aardvark, and booked the band Rush to perform. In 1976, he read about a bankrupt nightclub in Florida known as Rumbottoms; the space became the first incarnation of the Limelight. Limelight Atlanta followed. The longest period of time in which The Limelight remained closed was from 1996 to 1998. It reopened from 1998 onward until Gatien sold it in 2001 to a real estate developer.

Gatien produced the 1993 film A Bronx Tale, which starred Robert De Niro, after having produced it as a one-man play starring Chazz Palminteri.