PX This.

The Blabber in the Trenches

• The latest riveting rumors swirling within the industry have restaurateur Keith McNally "livid" over the news that the lease on Meatpacking District mainstay, Pastis, will not be renewed. Although there’s some disagreement as to the exact date of the lease expiration (Pastis opened in the Fall of 1999), speculators have the restaurant’s impending denouement pegged anywhere from "by the end of this year" to "sometime next year." As long suspected, the air rights over Pastis have proven far too valuable to its owners to extend Pastis’s entitlement, which simply cannot fulfill the estimated cost of retaining its space at its current market value, even if offered the option.

This comes on the heels of the cognition that the latest of several nightlife impresarios to have been offered the Pravda space on Lafayette St, within the last year or so, has also declined.

• And speaking of the latest move in NYC’s fast-paced Tenancy Twirl, sagacious speculators have Andre Balazs waiting in the wings for his crack at the Tony Turf Two-Step. Although his turn still "may be about a couple years" away, insiders say there’s already "talk" of the prime basement level space in Balazs’s perennially posh Mercer Hotel (currently Mercer Kitchen) and are rubbing their hands in glee over the inevitable "infusion" of new blood a Balazs self-owned/operated venue could bring.
And let’s face it; given Balazs’s smashing success at self-sufficient F&B in The Standard New York (and the, ahem— lack of love lost, so to speak), in our percipient minds this prudent rumor practically confirms itself.

• Aaand speaking of the habitual Hotel Hippity Hop, this just in reminded us: Former General Manager Lana Trevisan is no longer at Hotel Americano. She’s at Gansevoort Park now. (You’re welcome, googlie gods.)

• Which! also reminds us: Former Executive Chef Jonnatan Leiva is no longer manning the kitchen at 10 Downing (which also not-so-recently lost three of its managing partners, duh). He’s up the street at John deLucie‘s The Lion now.

• And now that we have chef on the brain, yes it’s true what you’ve heard— Josh Eden‘s Shorty’s .32 is indeed closed for good, and not simply "for renovations" as you’d all hoped. After failing to secure the "roughly $186,000.00" in this troublesome economy that Eden had sought to "buy out" his decisive principal partners and make minor reparations, Eden then accepted one of several major offers for his tremendous talent.

• Finally, as for the you-know-who and the you-know-what due in you-know-when: come on now, peoples. What are we, his mother?
That is all. And we really really mean it; THAT IS ALL. What the hells do you want, a pool or something? christ.

Hope you’re happy now, sheesh. [Thanks, we missed you too.]

* * * * *

Have you heard?
Until the release of PX Me – The Sequel to PX This (Spring Summer 2012), this website will henceforth be updated only intermittently (approximately once or twice a week).
Abbe Diaz’s new (daily) blog is now at: abbediaz.com

6 Responses to “The Blabber in the Trenches”

Leave a Reply