Back in February, news broke that Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, and The John Dory were working on a new project in the old Bar'rique space on Bleecker Street. Because that stretch of the West Village already has a lot of bars and restaurants, the duo reached out to the neighbors via notes and e-mails to explain their plans and rally some support for their inevitable appearance before the Community Board 2's SLA Liquor Licensing Committee.
Today, Friedman tells Eater that his team won't be at tonight's meeting, because they've finally decided to scrap their plans for the space. The restaurateur notes:
We wanted to open a wine bar because of Carla Rzeszewski, the wine director at The Spotted Pig, who we love. She got this recent fascination with Spanish wines and sherries. So we thought about doing a little wine bar based on what she likes, on that little stretch of Bleecker Street — we just thought it would be a perfect place.
He continues:
Like we always do, we met with the neighbors — they're all really nice, and most of them come to The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, and The Dory. But many of them said, "It's getting so loud, and we've lived here for years." We were going to go before the board and ask if we could close later than midnight, but we don’t want to go into a situation where we’re not welcomed with open arms.Earlier this year, the team also dropped plans for a project in the old Oliva space on the LES. Friedman says that he and Bloomfield still want to open another restaurant (or two), because they have a lot of staff that they'd love to promote, and it's what they like to do. So, if you know of any great spaces on the Upper West Side or Upper East Side, give Ken a call.
There might have been drama tonight, that's why I wanted to nip this in the bud, and I didn't want to get caught up in any of that.We live in the Village. We're not from another city, trying to open a restaurant in a place we have no connection to and don't have to face the neighbors on a daily basis. Its no fun to have neighbors blaming you for being kept awake last night. Maybe this is a sign that we need to open uptown.
· All Coverage of The Spotted Pig [~ENY~]