courtesy Inoteca

There’s an interesting Q&A on Eater with Jason Denton of Ino, Corsino, and Inoteca: “We’re working on two new locations [the other is in Williamsburg] to open in the next six months. Tribeca will open in the next two to three months. I can’t tell you exactly where, because we won’t have the lease in hand until next week. It’ll be our first step out of Italian, small plates but a move towards French and a more Mediterranean feel. We want to find a young chef who’s impressionable and make it simple and direct. It’s a great little location, under 65 seats, in a fun part of Tribeca. One of our partners lives in the area, so after being in the West Village for so long we were looking looking in Tribeca and finally found it.”

It’s like a dare! Let’s figure this out….

The short timetable certainly implies it’s a space that was already a restaurant: Mocca (not such a “fun” part of Tribeca); Spaghetti Western (ditto); Chanterelle (saw some people in there last night, actually…); Fitz’s Pig N Whistle (possible, because the previous plans sure seem to be on hold). Is there anywhere else? Have any other restaurants gone out of business?

Of course, it could be in a non-restaurant space, like the one in River Lofts (not a fun location, though). The space on Harrison and Staple that used to be the offices for Five Franklin Place…. The graffiti on Staple has been painted over, so something could be up. There’s also the space on Franklin (between Church and Broadway) where that bookstore/gallery Thirty Days popped up a few months ago. It’s nice and big, and that street has come a long way. But is it fun? Or the Zinc Building, which is just across from the young creative types in Hudson Square…. Or 34 Leonard, which is right across from the law school….

Then again, it could be a space that’s currently in use. I did hear rumors that the owner(s) of Bread Tribeca was ready to move on when the lease was up in a few years, and that’s a great space in a location—near the Tribeca Grand, Macao Trading Co., and Morimoto’s new place—that could legitimately be considered fun. Also, and I still can’t wrap my head around this, the agenda for this month’s CB1 Tribeca meeting listed a liquor-license application for One White, which is the building that’s home to Columbine. (The building has a new owner; perhaps the second floor could become a restaurant, too? Unlikely.) Speaking of two-floor spaces, there’s the former home of Hoi An, on West Broadway (that little pink building). Something has been brewing inside—but for a while, and who builds out without a lease?

Anyone else have any ideas? Come on, folks! Let’s crowd source!