Greenwich Village Stalwart Po is Currently Closed

Po, the 20-year-old Greenwich Village trattoria that put Mario Batali on the map, is currently closed. A sign in the window reads: "Due to a kitchen mechanical failure, Con Ed has temporarily shut off our gas main." According to reports from tipsters, this has been the case since at least Sunday, and there appeared to be no activity in the restaurant earlier this afternoon. Calls to the restaurant currently go unanswered.

Po was Mario Batali's very first restaurant in New York, but the celebrity chef hasn't been involved there since 1998, since he parted ways with co-owner Steven Crane and went on to open Babbo with Joe Bastianich (and subsquently ascend to Croc-clad global fame). The restaurant has remained a neighborhood standby for many, but its fate now seems uncertain. Update: Steven Crane tells Eater that the restaurant closed because of a gas leak in the building: "We now have to run all new gas lines which requires an architect, engineer, expediter for the DOB and  once the permit is approved we then have our plumber do the work." The whole process is expected to take about a month, and Crane says he expects to open some time in September.    
· All Coverage of Po [~ENY~]