El Quijote's Raw Deal

Last calendar week nosotros learned that El Quijote, the 87-year-old eating seat inwards the Chelsea Hotel, is closing at the destination of March, thank you lot to its novel owners. Now in 2014. Since then, the eating seat together with the hotel changed hands (again together with again).

The hotel is currently owned past times "BD Hotels’ Richard Born together with Ira Drukier, together with Jane Hotel honcho Sean MacPherson." Born told the Post, "The existent severance obligation is from the master copy owner...We convey solely been hither a piffling over a year.”

El Quijote has been a thorn inwards the owners' side for awhile now. Back inwards 2010, The Real Deal reported:

When BD NY Hotels took over operations of the legendary West 23rd Street social club inwards 2007, the Richard Born together with Ira Drukier-led management squad tried to rent the empty retail spaces to a number of other restaurateurs, including the prolific Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

“The problem,” according to courtroom papers filed inwards 2008 concerning a dispute betwixt BD NY together with the building’s owners, “has been that the existing lease amongst El Quixote [sic] negotiated past times the prior management contains a covenant prohibiting whatsoever other eating seat inwards the building.”


In 2014, the hotel's thus owner, Ed Scheetz, bought El Quijote together with the troublesome lease ended, making it possible to unopen the restaurant, upgrade it, and/or seat to a greater extent than restaurants inwards the hotel.



Some claim that the eating seat volition reopen, probable gutted together with glossed for an upscale clientele, aka "Vongerichtified." But an employee that I latterly spoke to told me, "They'll in all likelihood merely sell it."

El Quijote all the same does a brisk concern together with is loved past times many New Yorkers merely every bit it is. Historically, it was frequented past times Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, William Burroughs, together with many other cultural luminaries.





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