We've got a batch of plywood ready to hit later this afternoon, but before that, we've been hearing some pre-open restaurant news that you might want to hear.
1) West Village: Spotted Pig owner Ken Friedman has a new place in the making, at 10 Downing Street (just off Sixth Avenue, between Bedford and Bleecker). The liquor license application already is in to the SLA. [PRE-PLYWOOD]
2) Chelsea: The Black Pearl, a place which by some standards served one of the best lobster rolls in New York at its original location in the back of shuttered Lower Avenue A bar Julep, is reopening. The new venue, at what Eater operatives believe to be 37 West 26th Street, is under construction. [PRE-PLYWOOD/PLYWOOD]
3) East Village: Rebirth afoot in the Fourth Avenue space that previously held holds (who knew?) Pop, a restaurant whose manager, you may recall, was killed in the basement some years ago. Nightlife broker Steven "The" Kamali is brokering a deal with two first-time restaurateurs who plan to turn the venue into a tapas restaurant. [PRE-PLYWOOD]
