Seen & Heard: New Restaurant Plans for Lispenard

15 Renwick 62413••• Last we heard about 15 Renwick, the big plot on the small street that runs between Canal and Spring, Izaki Group Investments USA had taken over, a new design was in the works, and Core was handling the sales of the condos. Well, last week, as I was walking home from Giorgione, I noticed a sign for ODA Architecture on the plywood—it’s a reunion of sorts, since Izaki is working with both ODA and Core on the 93 Worth.

franklin subway entrance••• Look what finally reopened! The subway stop at the southwest corner of Franklin and Varick!

••• Work was actually/finally (miraculously?) happening at the old Mocca space (northeast corner of Church and Reade), where Balcony Café is coming. It looked like demo, which means it’s months and months away.

••• Mon Cher Market has opened on Broadway, where Variety Café was. The phone number, for you order-everything-in types, is 212-965-0007.

••• Marc Forgione’s Batch 22 Bloody Mary mix is now sold by the bottle.

the elevens••• Scott Kester, one of the guys behind the Elevens, emailed investors that the plug has officially been pulled.

An update on The Elevens has been long overdue. I have been waiting for good news to go along with the bad news.

The goal of building a new restaurant entirely from crowdfunding has proved too ambitious. After we stopped selling seats we turned to investors for the funding but we could not sign a deal before the lease came due. Consequently we lost the lease for The Elevens at 58 Lispenard. The bad news is The Elevens will not be going forward.

The good news is David Lefkowitz [Kester’s partner in The Elevens] is working on a new restaurant for the same location. [Update: See below.] I am excited for his new project and wish him well. If you have questions about the new venue please contact David directly.”

UPDATE 6/26: “I do not have a lease for that location,” emails David Lefkowitz, “nor do I have the funding for a new restaurant …yet.” And I removed David’s contact info because he says he never authorized the message.

 

1 Comment

  1. “Our goal is to be transparent in everything we do, so Seatholders can see exactly where their money is going,” says Kester. This quote is from The Trib
    Oct. 4, 2011

    Well, as one of the $500 “investors” in the restaurant, even though I wrote and asked what was happening I never heard anything. Good luck finding more funding for his restaurant – I would appreciate a refund. $500 isn’t a lot of money in the restaurant business but respect for people who believe in your dream is a priceless commodity. I bought into it their enthusiasm and now feel like I was taken. This venture was also covered in an article in the NY Times.
    Yes, a sucker is born every minute.

    o.k…….so where did the money go?