Causes for Concern: Owners of WXOU Sell Bar to Manager

West Village: We have recently confirmed that the owners of WXOU Radio Bar on Hudson Street in the West Village have turned over ownership to their manager, Rob Gelardi, who has been with the bar for over 14 years. Gelardi tells us that other than a minor change here or there nothing will change at Radio Bar: same name, same clientele, same bar. Fine. Wonderful.

But the change brings on a series of questions that we here at Eater HQ can't seem to shake.

Why, for one, would the owners of a pair of bars, named WCOU Radio Bar (aka Tile Bar) in the East Village and WXOU Radio Bar, get rid of just one, leaving its fate up to someone else? Does it mean Tile could be handed off? And what of the owner's other iconic holdings, The Magician and The Brooklyn Inn? What in god's name will we do if a mass liquidation is underfoot? We've heard multiple reasons for the sale, none of which put us at ease—that the manager wanted it so they just sold, that they don't own the building, that they're simply getting older. It's a bit premature for hysteria, but these are some questions we all need to consider.
· BREAKING: Long Troubled Vesuvio Bakery For Sale [~E~]
· Curious Case of The Brooklyn Inn: The Final Word (Maybe!) [~E~]
— photo credit