 Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment was described in 2007 as "the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring bands" by the "Boston Phoenix".The establishment was founded as a Lebanese restaurant which was purchased by the Sater family in the 1970s.Incentivized by a local music promoter's birthday party, The Middle East began to book more local rock groups starting in 1987.