Andrew Carmellini Opening Soho Restaurant After All

Back in September, a rumor circulated that Locanda Verde chef Andrew Carmellini was eying the top toque gig at the old Cub Room space. Currently being revamped by Carm's associate at Locanda, Josh Pickard, it aims to be a big deal restaurant, and word on the street was Carmellini wanted to be chef but had a sticky little non-compete agreement with Bobby De Niro to deal with.

That eight month-old rumor becomes all the more interesting today, because of an email sent out from restaurant design firm Roman & Williams:

Roman and Williams, which designed The Breslin (as well as the entire Ace Hotel) and The Standard Grill (in addition to all the interiors of the Standard Hotel), are doing two new restaurants due to open in the fall – the new Oyster Bar at the Ace Hotel for Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield and a new restaurant for chef Andrew Carmellini in SoHo.

No further details are revealed, and Carmellini and Pickard have yet to respond, but an independent source tells Eater that is is absolutely the Cub Room space and that he's focusing on casual American fare.
· Potential Gamechangers: Josh Pickard's Cub Room Space [~ENY~]

The Carm Room

131 Sullivan St., New York, NY