What Happens When Hits Snafu with Community Board 2

The owners of Rayuela and Tacombi weren't the only ones to face down Community Board 2's SLA Licensing meeting last night. Representatives of What Happens When, but not owner John Fraser, were present to discuss their license, and it did not go so smoothly.

What Happens When, chef John Fraser's temporary restaurant installation in Soho, is operating with a full liquor license because the owners bought out the stocks of the former restaurant of 25 Cleveland Place (Le Jardin Bistro) and therefore also inherited their method of operation and license. Several members of the community spoke out against the restaurant/installation saying that "pop ups have no ties to the community" and their method of procuring a license is "not fair to applicants who have done it the right way." Another interesting tidbit: a representative stated that they were not planning to leave the space after nine months, and have agreed with the landlord to go month to month after the nine month lease expires. Unfortunately because it was unclear whether the license was good or not, and because the members of CB2 didn't seem to like the fact that What Happens When didn't know their method of operation last night, the committee voted to deny with no conditions.

But don't fret: they'll face the full board later this month before the case goes to the SLA, and since it's a straightforward renewal, and not a new license, it should be easy to get final approval. As for the lease after nine months, perhaps we'll have to wait and see.
· CB2 Approves Quimera, Tacombi, The Golden, Little Havana [~ENY~]
· All Coverage of What Happens When [~ENY~]