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History of Tribeca Buildings
A White-Hot Rumor About the Capsouto Frères Space
This is too good to sit on—and possibly too good to be true. I heard from someone, who has heard from three separate people, that restaurateur Keith McNally—of Balthazar, Minetta Tavern, Pastis, Schiller’s, and Morandi—is sniffing around the old Capsouto Frères space at Washington and Watts.
On one hand, you can see how McNally would be drawn to the building’s unparalleled sense of place.
On the other hand, with one exception (see next paragraph), his other establishments haven’t exactly been in out-of-the-way spots.
On the third hand—don’t judge—perhaps he has long dreamed of returning to Tribeca, and perhaps the neighborhood’s northwestern corner reminds him of the way things were when he co-opened the Odeon back in 1980.
I asked my source if his/her sources seem like they know or are just hoping, and the response was noncommittal. I called Balthazar to see if I could find a main office or a media contact, and the reservationist said that there were no plans to open another restaurant. I asked again about a media contact (no offense), to which I was told that I could mail a letter to 568 Broadway. Seriously, you might as well just tell me to sod off.
Obviously, if you know anything, you have no choice but to share it with me at tribecacitizen@gmail.com or 917-209-6473. I accept texts, too.
5 Comments
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I wish I believed this. Sadly, I do not. Like you say, it’s a fantastic space, but it is pretty far out of the way.
95% of Tribeca restaurants are glorified Applebee’s at three times the price, and less sanitary
I do know from a good source that McNally was looking at the space but it was unlikely due to the fact that in Tribeca you can only really do 2 seatings/night. That makes the large space difficult to be profitable with in the first place. On top of that I was told that the Sandy damage is pretty bad and quite costly to fix.
@ Anon 6:23 = Chimp of the Day Award Winner !!!
Pastis and Baltazar have managed to maintain reputations through courting to tourists. The last time I was at Baltazar three years ago, it felt like a Disney restaurant with adults. Pastis is a flagship of the new meatpacking vibe. Enough said.