His Royal Cutletsness has word this afternoon that Allen & Delancey, the LES venue that was to be the home of Craftbar alum Akhtar Nawab, has run into some rather significant trouble:
An investor pulled out at the eleventh hour, leaving Nawab $200,000 short of his opening costs. The downcast chef told us: "Out of the blue, the investor said, 'I'm not spending this kind of money!' He called everybody and fired them yesterday. The chairs just arrived two days ago!"From Flo Fab's fall preview, the venue was conceived of as a show piece for "Mr. Nawab’s specialty, Mediterranean cooking, a cuisine that shows no sign of fading." Interested restaurant investors with $200K to spare should at this time come to the front of the room. Please have your venue preference -- Alllen & Delancey or Grayz -- pre-selected.
· Allen and Delancey Tripped at Finish Line [Cutlets]
· Back into the Fray [NYT]