Bowie’s Burlesque Club to Give the Box a Run for Its MoneyEarlier this week we reported that broker James Famularo had closed a deal putting mobster institution Little Charlie’s Clam Bar into the hands of a new owner. Sure enough, the Observer now reports that come autumn David Bowie, Sting, and Ivan Kane will turn the place into a low-key, high-spender outpost of Kane’s Vegas and L.A. burlesque nightclubs Forty Deuce. Will this be the next Box? If we’re to believe Famularo, it may be that and more; he says the owners have budgeted something in the neighborhood of $4 million to, among other things, tear open the ground floor (keeping 25 percent of it for use as a mezzanine) and install a stage in what’s now the basement. For food, Famularo says, Kane is considering serving 500 different types of French fries, though he admits, “I couldn’t tell whether he was joking or serious.” One thing Kane is serious about: “He wants 100 percent of the focus to be on the girls and the dancing.” You heard it — no rubbernecking when the Thin White Duke shows up.
It’s Curtains for Little Italy’s Little Charlie’s; Bowie-Backed Burlesque Show Replacing It! [The Real Estate/NYO]
Earlier: Little Italy Mobster Institution No Longer in the Family
Neighborhood Watch
Danny Meyer Can’t Close a Deal in Central ParkBrooklyn Heights: Brutal attacks on plastic restaurant mascots has become an alarming trend. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Central Park: Danny Meyer’s having trouble closing the deal on Shake Shack No. 2. [Down by the Hipster]
Clinton Hill: Pan y Mas is already shuttered; no word if it giving away too much free coffee was the culprit. [Clinton Hill Blog] But Community Supported Agriculture has finally found a new home at Christ’s Church on Clinton Street. [Brooklyn Record]
East Village: Birdbath bakeries offer from 25 to 50 percent off your order if you ride a bike to get there. [Gridskipper]
Flatiron: Tabla hasn’t given up on New Orleans; every bill includes a line for an optional Katrina-relief donation. [Gotham Gal]
Greenwich Village: Otto hostess harangued a party of eighteen over the limit of its dining time throughout a two-hour, $2,000 dinner. [Eater]
Little Italy: A mobster institution may no longer be in the family, but it looks like all debauchery won’t cease; the owner of L.A.’s Forty Deuce, Ivan Kane, will introduce burlesque to the Little Charlie’s Clam Bar space. [Eater]
Red Hook: The land Brooklyn Brewery’s been scouting for a new operation is described as “toxic soup.” [Gowanus Lounge]
NewsFeed
Little Italy Mobster Institution No Longer in the FamilyJames Famularo, one of the brokers responsible for dropping GoldBar onto Little Italy like a ton of bricks, brings us news that 19 Kenmare, the building housing neighborhood institution (and onetime mobster hangout) Little Charlie’s Clam Bar has been sold to David Zahabian, a landlord who also owns the building where the Puma store is located. This is the first time the old-time pasta spot has changed ownership since it opened in 1926, having been run by four generations of the Filipazo family ever since. Although Zahabian, who is not a restaurateur, will be running Little Charlie’s as of the closing (said to be in the $10 million neighborhood) a couple of days ago, it’s not a stretch to assume he’ll find a more experienced operator who may or may not shake things up, so you might want to put in that order of linguini and clam sauce fast.
