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Update on Patisserie Chanson & Chanson Le Salon
After Patisserie Chanson, the restaurant on the corner of Greenwich and Harrison, was closed by the Health Department, the manager there — Ronnie Chwasz — asked me to visit and tour the kitchen and get a better understanding of what went on and why.
It was good to go by, mostly to be fair and follow up after a very negative post. But more than that — for me (and not to sound preachy) — it was a good reminder that our neighborhood restaurants are not faceless institutions, but a group of people just doing their jobs, and sometimes not great jobs at that. And we expect their service without really thinking much about it. (Captured below: executive chef Max Loflin, executive pastry chef Janet Kim and pastry line cook Mario Cardenas.)
So to the restaurant’s violations: There were a lot of little ones (a dripping faucet; a slow drain; the barriers on the shed required sandbags to weigh them down; eggs were out to prep a dish, but due to language barriers, the line cook did not reply correctly and got dinged) and then some big ones that included rats and bugs. The Health Department inspectors found evidence of both, and eventually traced it to a storage room that the restaurant did not use but yet it was stacked full of supplies and furniture. The solution was to move all of that off site to a storage facility. They also switched pest control services.
“We were working here for four days straight,” Ronnie said. (The restaurant chain is owned by a family in China — they are opening a new one on the Upper West Side soon.) “We patched holes we didn’t know we had. It’s an old building, and it’s not air tight.”
The raised platform that served as a deck was also given a violation, but it turns out that was within their property line and allowable (Ronnie showed me the letter confirming this). Still, Ronnie decided to remove it after the rodent debacle. He said he could never properly clean under there and it was getting gross. “I didn’t want to attract any more ‘friends.’ If we want to be more sanitary, this was the #1 issue.” He power washed the sidewalk and the diamond plate and now plans to repaint the facade.
The restaurant removed its shed on the Harrison Street side since the blower for the exhaust is right there.
Ronnie started his career at Bouchon, Thomas Keller’s place in Beverly Hills, and was a captain there til it closed. He was an assistant GM at The Standard and The Lincoln; this is his first general manager job. “This was a good lesson since now I’m a DOH pro,” he said. “With failing you learn so much. Now we have 7 points and an A grade.”
He said he is willing to give anyone a kitchen tour — just stop by and ask. “They do that at Michelin restaurants – why not us?”
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How is that loud obnoxious exhaust fan permitted to blow out on to pedestrians & patrons of their restaurant?
Probably because they have no other choice…it isn’t like there are a lot of other options. I don’t like it either but they have a huge nut to crack every month with an obscene amount of rent I don’t know how they do it. NYC isn’t a comfortable city but it is a great city.
In an old building like that, I imagine it is not easy or even possible to vent to the roof.
It is illegal if the exhaust is located lower than ten (10) feet above the sidewalk.
2022 NYC Mechanical Code Sections
506.3.13 Exhaust outlets serving Type I hoods. Exhaust outlets for grease ducts serving Type I hoods shall conform to the requirements of Sections 506.3.13.1 through 506.3.13.3.
[…]
506.3.13.2 Termination through an exterior wall. Exhaust outlets shall be permitted to terminate through exterior walls where the smoke, grease, gases, vapors and odors in the discharge from such terminations do not create a public nuisance or a fire hazard. Such terminations shall not be located where protected openings are required by the New York City Building Code. Other exterior openings shall not be located within 3 feet (914.4 mm) of such terminations.
506.3.13.3 Termination location. Exhaust outlets shall be located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) horizontally from parts of the same or contiguous buildings, adjacent buildings and adjacent property lines and shall be located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) above the adjoining grade level. Exhaust outlets shall be located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) horizontally from and not less than 3 feet (914.4 mm) above air intake openings into any building.
Exception: Exhaust outlets shall terminate not less than 5 feet (1524 mm) horizontally from parts of the same or contiguous building, an adjacent building, adjacent property line and air intake openings into a building where air from the exhaust outlet discharges away from such locations.
Tried to go this am for breakfast- but they were closed.
Note they have been closed Mondays for a long time.
They are a large international corporation based in China and seem to have a lot of money. They are not a mom and pop business. Their corporate resources make it easier for them to stay in business and they are not struggling like small locally owned places are. Corporate owned places are mostly opening because small owners can’t stay in business given exorbitant rents etc
If Patisserie Chanson – Chanson Le Salon in Tribeca is serious about getting rid of the rats and roaches in their restaurant, they should get rid of the outdoor shed on the street. That is a real rat trap. If you walk by at night, there are rats running rampant in and out. They have placed multiple rat traps around the shed, so the restaurant clearly knows that this too is causing their problems. Those traps, unfortunately, will not really alleviate things. Getting rid of the deck and tables out front was just a start towards nuking those rats. Next should be the shed.
Is this now closed permanently? Seems very abrupt. Does anyone have more details?
It is not closed at all!
There is a note on the door as of today that it has permanently closed. Sunday 7/23 was its last day of service.
OMG! Thanks — I thought this referred to the closing a few weeks ago…
I see Tribeca residents looking for as many ways to close down businesses as possible as usual