Fall Tracking: Gansevoort 69

Gansevoort 69, 69 Gansevoort St., MePa
Initial Projection: Mid-July
Current Debut Projection: Early September
Odds, On Time Arrival: Even
Eater Projected Opening Date: 09/15/09

Today Metromix runs an interview with David Graziano, the new owner of the Florent space, dba Gansevoort 69. He admits that moving into the space is a double edged sword: it's an iconic building fraught with history and memories, yet he will be watched very closely and vilified for changing too much. But let's be real. Florent is long gone and the new operator can't be expected to spend all his efforts canonizing it. A breakdown of how it will be similar to its predecessor, how it won't, and what Graziano is doing to win over the nabe.

How it Will be Like Florent: He's keeping the sign, going 24 hours on Thurs - Sat, and putting out a basic menu of burgers, mac 'n' cheese, fries, etc. He's kept the original bar and floor.

How it Will Not be Like Florent: "We're gonna do a little roof deck upstairs for next summer...Upstairs is gonna be like, if you wanna do a party or rent the room for a private space. That'll be part of the whole Florent concept."

Also, it won't have the same "sense of dirtiness" that Florent did. New ceiling design, lots of plants.

Winning over the Crowds: There will be a neighborhood discount card (note, Mo Pitkins used a similar tactic back in the day), "Anybody who works within a one-mile radius will actually have a permanent discount card." And finally, instead of bread on the table, free fries for all.

· Fall Dining Spotlight: Gansevoort 69 [Metromix]
· Summer Tracking: The Gut Job at the Gansevoort St. Cafe [~E~]