Smith's Legendary Neon Will Glow Again, Thanks to Hayden Panettiere's Dad

In December, the neon sign above Smith's bar started to glow again on 44th Street — despite the fact that the much-loved 60-year-old dive closed down in October. Now, it looks like the bar will be fully back up and running in March thanks to Skip Panettiere, a former firefighter and the dad of actress Hayden Panettiere, reports DNAinfo. Skip plans to keep things mostly the same "so people can have back that home that they thought they had," he said. Karaoke night will live on and so will the bar's look, but Skip plans to update the menu somewhat with "a nice chili, some nice meatballs." He wants the old regulars to feel at home: "I hope people come in and feel like they're back...That Smith's wasn't taken away."