26 REDS & A BOTTLE OF WINE

There's trouble in paradise in the West Village/MePa.

A couple of people I know work over at Batali's new place, Del Posto. They've been telling me for a awhile about the spots various problems with the landlord who hasn't been too happy with the contruction build-out or the way things have run in the month and a half since the place opened. The Times is reporting this as the latest shot across the bow.

…Del Posto explained that the landlord had announced plans to do electrical repairs that day, forcing the restaurant to close on the Saturday after Valentine’s Day, in the middle of the Washington’s Birthday weekend. Del Posto’s owners say the landlord, Somerset Partners, deliberately scheduled the project for the busiest night of the week…
For the shutdown next Saturday, Del Posto will load the food from the restaurant’s refrigerators into rented refrigerator trucks. Del Posto will also have electricians standing by, in case of problems with restaurant equipment when the power goes back on.

Tough times...

Secondly, I met this guy who works over at the new Balducci. He claims they are already having a hard time making the money add up in their new spot on the corner of 14th and 8th Ave. It's important to note that the Balducci family no longer owns the name. They sold it to Sutton Place, a supermarket chain corporation out of the Virginia area. It's only been open a month and they are already grilling the employees about upselling. No wonder they can't make a buck, the rent for the space is 50,000 dollars a month.