Justin Chearno obit

Justin Chearno (Pitchblende, Turing Machine, and Four Horsemen co-owner) has died

 

He was not on the list.

Justin Chearno, the onetime member of such bands as Pitchblende and Turing Machine, who went on to be at the forefront of the natural wine movement and was co-owner of Brooklyn restaurant Four Horseman, has died. He was 54.

“It is with deep sadness that The Four Horsemen announces the passing of our friend and founding partner Justin Chearno,” The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and the other co-owners wrote on Instagram. “It is a loss for the entire food and wine community, here and abroad, as Justin Helped to champion, teach, and connect so many people — from winemakers to chefs to so manhy more. We will mourn, and grapple with, this unimaginable loss forever.”

Born in 1970, Chearno came up through the D.C. hardcore scene and formed art-punk band Pitchblende in 1990. (He was also very briefly in Unrest, and played on “Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl.”) The band released records on Matador, Jade Tree and Simple Machines before calling it quits in 1995. Chearno and Pitchblende bassist Scott DeSimon moved to NYC and formed Turing Machine with drummer Jerry Fuchs in 1998 and released three albums on Jade Treek, Frenchkiss, and Temporary Residence Ltd.

It was during those Turing Machine years that Justin started working at UVA Wines in Williamsburg, one of the first places in NYC to specialize in natural wine. He was the head buyer for eight years but left to open Four Horsemen with James Murphy in 2015. By the late ’00s, Four Horseman had become a destination restaurant for the food and wine, not just the rock star owner, and won a James Beard award for Outstanding Wine Program in 2022.

The Four Horseman cookbook was recently announced which includes an oral history of the restaurant which Justin contributed to. He was one of the good ones.

Rest easy, Justin.