Gramercy's Trattoria Il Mulino to Get Upscale Revamp, to Make It More Like the Original Il Mulino

The ever expanding Il Mulino team has decided to convert half of Trattoria Il Mulino, its year-old casual offshoot in Gramercy, into a more upscale Il Mulino concept along the lines of the clubby original. Owner Jerry Katzoff explains, "Out of New York the casual concept will do better, but in New York, people view Il Mulino as high-end.'' In other words — as he told Eater earlier this month — people don't realize that lunch isn't as expensive as it is at the 60th Street original, which has perhaps deterred some of the hip young crowd he was hoping to attract.

Now he's looking to one of New York's finest as a model: "We see what Gramercy Tavern has done by having a less formal room up front, and that is what we are trying to create.'' Katzoff expects to have new furnishings and a divider in place before Christmas, and one can only assume that the mural in the back is not long for this world.