wd~50 Closing Due to Building Issues; Relocation Possible

Today, Wylie Dufresne explains that he is indeed closing his pioneering Lower East Side establishment wd~50 because the building that houses the restaurant is being torn down to make way for a new development. Next year, the space will basically become a construction site, and he didn't want to continue to operate a restaurant under those conditions. Dufresne in the Membresne tells Jeff Gordinier at the Times: "It's a real estate thing...We weren't going to be able to give the diners the same experience we'd been giving them."

The good news is that Wylie hopes to revive wd~50 in another location, or open something in the same vein in a different part of the city. Dufresne explains: "We don't quite know yet where we're going. It's like they say, 'You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.'" Until the restaurant's final night of service on November 30, Wylie and his crew will continue to play around and develop new dishes, like they've always done.

Nordic superstar Rene Redzepi is majorly bummed about the fact that Wylie won't be cooking on Clinton Street anymore. The chef tells the Times: "I've never understood why New York hasn't given him the 'key to the city,' like they have,rightly, to some of his peers who do a nice pasta or a new burger."
· Wylie Dufresne Will Close WD-50 [NYT]
· Previously: Wylie Dufresne to Close wd~50 at the End of November [~ENY~]