Altamarea Group's Retro Canteen The Butterfly Goes on Vacation Till Labor Day

Altamarea Group's American bar/restaurant The Butterfly is taking a break for the rest of the summer. A rep for the group explains that the restaurant is on "hiatus till Labor Day," with a note that it's "so quiet in Tribeca in the summer."

The Butterfly opened almost exactly two years ago with modern updates on forgotten cocktails by Eben Freeman, and a menu of comfort foods designed by Michael White and Marea's Jared Gadbaw. It never got the major review treatment that White's other restaurants received, but the cocktail list — and the patty melt — generated some good buzz. Since day one, it's always been Altamarea's quirkiest restaurant.

[The Patty Melt by Nick Solares]

This is the first time any Altamarea Group restaurant has taken an extended break of this nature. But it's true that as of Friday at 12:30 p.m., we are officially living in The Dog Days of Summer 2015. The third week in July till Labor Day Weekend is a time when most sane New Yorkers take a few days off from the grind if they can afford to do so — or a week or two if that's feasible — and a lot of restaurants close to make some upgrades/completely overhaul their business plans.

Later this year, Altamarea will open a new French restaurant on East 63rd Street called Vaucluse. Including The Butterfly, Altamarea currently operates seven New York restaurants, and 16 restaurant worldwide.

Update: A message on the Butterfly's homepage reads: "Celebrating summer by giving our team a chance to work on their craft by researching cocktails, traveling, and renovating the space."