Thanks, but no thanks.

Stephen Starr tells Grub Street that after months of drama and neighborhood opposition, he’s decided to cut his losses and walk away from the shuttered Paris Commune space. In March, Community Board 2’s SLA Committee rejected Starr’s proposal — which would have expanded occupancy at the spot from 80 to 137 seats — and Starr had offered to present a new, scaled-down version of his proposal this week. Then he changed his mind.

“We’re moving on,” he told Grub Street. “We would have settled for a smaller space, but we would have had to close at midnight. That would have been intolerable.” Starr said he had no specific plans for another restaurant in the vicinity but noted that no matter where he went, next he would look for a “great space and a location where the neighbors aren’t uncomfortable.” Elaine Young, a member of Community Board 2 and a West Village activist told Grub, “He’s a great operator but his plan wasn’t right for that venue.”

Earlier: Stephen Starr on CB’s Paris Commune Rejection: ‘Maybe We’ll Just Walk Away’

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Filed Under: next up, paris commune, rejection, stephan starr

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Your donation here.

Starting this Friday for a year of Fridays, some 1,200 hungry people who line up for lunch at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in Chelsea will get to sample 500 gallons of Ben Tabatchnick’s hand-crafted soups, courtesy of the bow-tied, fourth-generation soup-maker and philanthropist from Somerset, New Jersey. Tabatchnick’s donation to the Episcopalian church’s soup kitchen, the largest in the city, amounts to a $52,000 annual savings for the organization, which had its state funding cut in half this year.

Tabatchnick is well-known for developing a protein paste called Nutty Butta designed to feed refugees in the horn of Africa, and he has challenged other food companies to donate to Holy Apostles. Thus far, HP Hood LLC, Organic Valley, and Rustic Crust have stepped up to the donation plate, said church spokeswoman Maoise McGee. Food companies interested in answering the challenge can visit Holy Apostles online or call 212-924-0167.

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Filed Under: good causes, ben tabatchnick, holy apostles, nutty butta

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Superdive’s reputation probably isn’t helping.

At last night’s Community Board 3 SLA committee meeting, the board unanimously rejected a bid to turn the former Superdive space into an art gallery with a full restaurant. It was the fourth such thumbs-down for the app. One resident and opponent of the bid said before the vote, “There is no public benefit in having a gallery because there are already twenty galleries in the neighborhood.” Last summer, the trio behind the plans attempted to bypass the community board and appeal directly to the State Liquor Authority, but no dice there, either.

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Starr.

As Eater noted earlier, Stephen Starr was at last night’s Community Board 2 meeting, and the board’s SLA committee voted to reject his plans to turn the Paris Commune space into a larger restaurant. About 30 neighborhood residents showed up to oppose the application, including a group calling itself the Residents for Responsible Restaurants in the West Village, which circulated a flyer earlier in the week that described Starr’s project as “an invasion by the Meatpacking District.” Starr called that description unfair, and told the board that he is “a restaurateur, not a night club operator.” It didn’t do much good, but we talked to him this morning and asked him what his next move would be.

“Some things are not meant to be,” Starr told Grub Street. “Maybe we’ll take this as a sign that we should be doing something else, maybe smaller.” He added that his team was considering the option of going directly to the SLA (bypassing the community board), or, he said, “maybe we’ll just walk away.”

Interestingly, most of Starr’s supporters for the project are people who live above the site at 99 Bank Street, and had rejected other applications. “The building wants him and he feels he can be a friendly neighbor who can replace the failed restaurants that came before him,” said Donald M. Bernstein, Starr’s Manhattan attorney. “This wouldn’t be Buddakhan.”

Earlier: Stephen Starr to Open Restaurant in Paris Commune Space

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Filed Under: community boards, paris commune, stephen starr, west village

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And the beat goes on.

Josh Picard’s bid for an alteration that would create a 2,000-square-foot lounge designed by David Rockwell on the mezzanine level of Joe’s Pub, which he co-owns at the Public Theater, was approved without any fuss as last night’s community board meeting. Picard tells Grub Street that the plan “expands an existing [liquor] license and existing space and would add 84 new seats.” He noted the new lounge, with restaurant and bar, would allow theatergoers “to come in from the cold and sit and talk to performers.” The lounge has no official name as yet but is part of the Public Theater’s $40 million makeover — with funds mostly provided by the city. Joe’s Pub will also be getting a new kitchen as its part of the package. As for when both will open, “We’re shooting for this fall.”

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Filed Under: easy, joe’s pub, the public theater

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It’s Easy Street for Los Feliz.

Rob Shamlian’s Los Feliz taqueria was shut down temporarily during a LES underage-drinking ambush last spring, but that doesn’t mean Community Board 3 holds a grudge: They just granted Shamlian swift and unconditional approval to convert two service bars into standup bars at the three-level Los Feliz. Reps from CB3 didn’t get back to us, but of the unanimous vote in his favor, Shamlian tells Grub Street, “We’ve been super clean for years … we have security; we don’t have fights or complaints from neighbors.” He says the plans for two standup bars, still subject to approval from the State SLA, is not to draw more customers, “but to serve the patrons proper that we already have.”

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Filed Under: score, cb3, community boards, los feliz, rob shamlian

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Fabled bar goes to king of low-cal munchies.

The rumor is true: Robert Ehrlich, CEO of Pirate Brands, now owns the shuttered Holiday Cocktail Lounge, and last night he got a green light from Community Board 3’s SLA committee to transfer Holiday’s liquor license to a new restaurant-bar, expected to open in April. The restaurant will serve local, regional foods. The first-floor spot, previously owned by Jeff Tendler, will be managed by Barbara Sibley, owner and chef of La Palapa, the Mexican restaurant right next door. Sibley told Grub Street, “We’re going to try to preserve as much of the history as possible.” No name for the Bootylicious-backed joint yet.

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Filed Under: openings, holiday lounge, pirate’s booty

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He’s feeling comfy and cozy.

For a hot second, there was a rumor that Scott Conant was taking over the West Village corner location of the shuttered Paris Commune, but now Grub Street confirms that Stephen Starr, Philly and New York’s big-shot restaurateur, appeared for a second time at the SLA committee meeting last night, seeking to sell liquor at the casual, unnamed eatery (something he’s hinted about before). Apparently, Starr wants to expand into the residential co-op that houses the restaurant, but co-op shareholders and neighbors are worried about noise, congestion, and closing hours. The committee asked to him come back next month for another hearing, and suggested he iron things out with his new neighbors in the interim. Starr told Grub Street that he was “confident” all concerns could be worked out.

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Come on, it sounds cool.

During a dreary meeting that lasted nearly seven hours last night, CB2 exercised some dream-crushing on hopefuls like Toqueville/15 East and their quest for liquor service at the new Hyatt Union Square Hotel (their hearing was postponed). They also gave a big “talk to the hand” to Dan Rafalin, a partner at AvroKO’s Public, who proposed an alteration that would create a small bar with five seats in the spot’s “Monday Room,” complete with a separate entrance. But the concept was opposed by local residents, and fiercely so by board members like Robin Goldberg, who claimed the change would constitute a “separate entity” in a bar-saturated neighborhood. Grub Street asked a dejected Rafalin if he would take his case to the New York State Liquor Authority, to which he had no comment.

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Toby’s having problems.

The Kenmare Street offshoot of Toby’s Public House in Brooklyn, which is still under construction, has been hit by vandals opposed to any liquor license at the soon-to-open spot, says owner Christine Iu, who lives a block away. Iu gave a harrowing account to Community Board 2 about unidentified perps who had scrawled “no bars” on the sidewalk shed of her establishment (once home to the Village Tart) and had also splattered white latex paint across the main entrance.

“I reported this [last incident] to the police,” Iu told the board, which subsequently rejected her bid for a beer and wine license in a bloc vote that supported resolutions by its SLA committee. Iu also claimed that her British fiancé, who lives with her and their two young children, has been regularly accosted by folks in the neighborhood complaining about her intentions. “I’m concerned not just for myself, but for my kids, my future, my dog, and my fiancé,” she said. “It’s just not right. It must stop.”

Iu’s bid for a full liquor license was previously turned down by CB2 after angry protests from residents. She told Grub Street that she would consult with her lawyer before taking her case to the State Liquor Authority, but remains determined to open in a couple of weeks even though the atmosphere has been “intimidating and threatening. We’ll have good food, good service. And I’ll have my hand extended.”

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Filed Under: issues, crimes, toby’s public house, vandalism

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Smiles all around!

We often report on the frustration that many bar and restaurant owners feel when they face their various community boards, but at the Community Board 2’s SLA committee meeting last night, the Smile’s co-owner Matthew Kliegman sailed through the process with his bid to upgrade the shop’s beer and wine license into a full liquor license. Even Zella Jones, the noted Noho activist who frowns on most liquor-license apps (including this one at one time!) gave a nod of approval: “I honestly can’t say there is another establishment in Noho that personifies the neighborhood. It’s very low key and has a very nice clientele. So I’m … in favor of granting this because I’m really afraid of what might happen if someone else took over this location.” [Earlier]

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It’s beer or nothing at this point.

Dario Wolos went into Community Board 2’s SLA meeting last night armed with 5,000 signatures supporting his plans for a full liquor license at Fonda Nolita, which currently has a beer and wine license. But the SLA committee shot down his bid, claiming the area was already saturated with bars. Wolos pointed out that he didn’t want a bar, and that his goal “is to deliver an authentic restaurant experience.” In fact, he only plans to serve four different drinks, and no margaritas. Of course, that prompted committee co-chair Richard Stewart to remark, “If I can’t get a gin and tonic [at a restaurant], I’d leave.” He added, “Four drinks is not enough for me to say you should have a full license.” [Earlier]

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Filed Under: community boards, cb2, fonda nolita

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