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Freehand Hotels, Home to Broken Shaker, Sold for $400M

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Plus, a man’s suing a nightclub for “Ladies Night” — and more intel

A wide shot of Simon & the Whale dining room
Simon & the Whale
Alex Staniloff/Eater

Freehand Hotels changes hands for $400 million

Boutique hotel chain Freehand — home to popular restaurants like Simon & the Whale and Studio, plus rooftop cocktail bar Broken Shaker — has a new owner. London-based hotel company Generator and its parent Queensgate Investments announced this week that it had acquired Freehand Hotels for $400 million, including the location in Gramercy. There are also Freehand locations in Miami, LA, and Chicago, as well as a new D.C. outpost planned for 2020.

There are no changes planned to the Freehand location for now — Generator and Freehand will continue to run as different brands, totaling 18 hotels around the world. But they both reportedly lean into strong restaurant and bar concepts for “the traveling millennial,” and adjustments may come later on, according to a statement from Generator.

In other news

— This guy! A man is suing nightclub Republica Lounge, alleging sex discrimination because the Inwood spot has a “Ladies Night” where women get in for free but he had to pay a $20 fee.

— The late Anthony Bourdain apparently advocated on behalf of Ronan Farrow to New Yorker editor David Remnick after NBC declined to run Farrow’s Harvey Weinstein reporting.

— The Journal takes a look at New York City’s Wegmaniacs, the Wegman’s fans who are eager for the grocery store’s opening date on October 27.

— Soho’s Kee’s Chocolates, around since 2002, has opened a new location on the UWS, but the Garment District outpost has closed.

— Lol: