Grub Street

Word on the street is that Chat n' Chew, which opened 20 years ago opposite Union Square Cafe sporting old barn siding on its dining-room walls and a menu of things like chicken-fried steak, has closed for good. Chat 'n Chew was for years the self-proclaimed opposite of the more prevalent industry's "turn and burn" mantra, a place that deployed its "small town beanery" vibe to great effect in getting customers to stay a while or opt for a slice of Coca-Cola cake. The café was directly across East 16th Street from Danny Meyer's first restaurant, which will also close at the end of 2015 in advance of relocation. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, Related]

One year ago, pretty much to the day, fabled Ludlow Street bar Max Fish closed its Parliament Lights-smoke-aged doors for good, a victim of ever-escalating rents. Owner Ulli Rimkus pledged to reopen in Williamsburg, but the bar's longtime proprietor seized an opportunity to rebuild the Fish on Orchard Street. Max Fish 2.0 opens Saturday, August 2, and will keep hours of 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., seven days a week. The cigarette-shaped light fixture that once hung outside near the awning is now enshrined safely inside, and Rimkus says the old, beat-up pool table will be back soon, along with a rotation of new artwork by locals. "I don’t want it to be a Max Fish museum," she says. [DNAinfo, Related]

Voluminous Columbus Avenue restaurant Corvo Bianco, which opened a year ago with an ambitious-looking menu and acclaimed chef Elizabeth Falkner in the kitchen, has had a run of bad luck. The reviews were resoundingly not great, and Falkner, who replaced the Michelin-starred Andrea Cobbe, left in February. Its next iteration, with ex-Scarpetta chef Chris Wyman, didn't seem to fare so well, either; the restaurant is now closed, ostensibly for maintenance, and Eater hears a "big-name chef" is currently in talks for a reboot with restaurateur Luis Gonzalez. [Eater NY, Related]

In a ruling issued yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board announced that McDonald's Corp. can be considered a "joint employer" alongside franchisees when it comes to resolving labor-practice disputes. The decision came as part of a closely watched case brought by workers fired for unionizing, and the unprecedented move stands to broaden a previous interpretation of when, exactly, companies including Burger King and Yum Brands — whose stores are nearly all franchisee owned and operated — will be required to address instances of labor violations and lawsuits related to wages and discrimination. The fast-food giant, perhaps unsurprisingly, is trying to keep that franchisee-franchisor Great Wall in place.

Hot on the heels of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, President Obama stopped by the equally revered Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City last night to hang out with some folks and eat some 'cue. The president didn't cut the line this time — as he did at Franklin — and instead just walked up to the window to order some ribs, a Bud Light, water, and fries. POTUS was also in the mood for some cole slaw, but the restaurant was out. "You didn't save any for me?" the most powerful man in the world reportedly asked when informed of the outage. "Come on, man, I thought you were going to hook me up."