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Florent, the beloved Meatpacking District hangout set to close this summer after almost twenty three years in business, will at least be going out in style, according to Frank Bruni, who spoke with owner Florent Morellet yesterday. The bistro's long goodbye will last five weeks, with each week dedicated to one of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Week One, starting Monday, May 26, will be Denial, with the remaining four weeks themed as Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Each theme week will have special dishes, decor and performances by familiar faces like burlesque star Dirty Martini, all leading up to a big sad send-off on June 29th, Gay Pride Day. The Post also mentions a writing contest in which entrants would share their favorite Florent memory, with the winner getting a free dinner on the last night. Morellet tells Bruni:
So many of our customers are either at the stage of Anger or Denial. Some are just in a state of shock. We’re going to gather together to go through those stages and celebrate those stages, and end with a bang, and with irony, which we’ve always done.The quirky French bistro – housed in an old diner that was a speakeasy in the ‘20s and a favorite greasy spoon for longshoremen and meatpackers in the ‘50s – has become even more cherished in recent years as a corrective to the fratastic Bridge and Tunnel scene dominating the neighborhood. The closure is caused by the increasingly repetitive groove in New York’s broken record: obscene real estate prices. Once Morellet vacates, the lease will jump from $6,000 to $50,000 per month; odds are the new tenant won’t be operating an idiosyncratic bistro.
Photo: Michael Dillingham.
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Not Flo!
Whoever takes over this space in the MePathetic district and is willing to pay 50k/mo I'm sure doesn't really care about the heritage of the old speakeasy. I'm sure their interior designers will try and 'incorporate the neighborhood feel' though, and maybe donate a percent of sales to the 'Highline' Euroyuppiepark. Man, I miss DIzzyIzzys.
The bistro's long goodbye will last five weeks, with each week dedicated to one of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Followed by the seven deadly sins. One for each day of the week. Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride and GREED!
chris you don't know shit about this bitch she just canned all her workers without severance and no warning now how are they to feed their families bet her father is turning over in his grave greedy greedy
i will miss you florent. and your cute matchbooks.
haha. the Kubler-Ross stages... that's a great concept for a send off.
Where the hell is this city going?
rent 50K/mo. Prices non-stop-rising.
Only luxury rental new buildings.. and so on...where are we going?
Michi
why is this happening and will it ever stop?
50K a month for a diner!?! Welcome to Manhattan, Disneyland for those with obscene amounts of wealth. Lawyer, banker or other working stiff making low to mid six figures? MAYBE you can come and window shop - you'd be better off living like a king in any other part of the country though, where your salary would make you rich. Here, you're part of the middle class, and no not even the upper middle class unless. The rest of you, move along - there's nothing here for you.
I'll bet (and HOPE) it sits empty for MONTHS. On the other hand, some fool has probably already leased it.
Having grown up here I agree with solidago's sad but true comment.
I do remember going there years back before I started avoiding the area...
I had some good early morning drunk food, some good quiet time with friends post-partying, and great late night continuations into the morning with old friends that worked in the area.
It's a shame to read of such an increase. Capitalism is capitalism but isn't there a point where one says enough is enough? There's a point of the market weeding out the weak but this is ridiculous. There's no room for adaptation for anything of the old timers to compete without an uncalled for increase in prices.
Didn't we read of the Cherokee diner death this week already?
I'm not crying for dinosaurs but history as we've known it is being sold off in the city little by little. Everything can't be landmarked and these are the results.
Forgotten NY guy has his job cut out for him. Kudos to him even as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Wow, citylion, that was all very nicely put.
To add my two-cents, I'm very sad to see Florent go, but glad to hear they are going out in such style.
tibor kalman!
who would've thunk a late-nite meal anywhere in manhattan would cost a hot $50Gs. it's not like the meat packing district is the cote d'azure. big sigh, and au revoir, florent.
very sad about this. first place I ever had mussels. yum. also, they organized anti-war bus trips to DC complete with a Florent lunch at one point! (my mom went)....Is there a place for this New York anymore? In Brooklyn I suppose.
For trivia fans:
In Kubler-Ross' book "On Death and Dying" the famous and oft-quoted "five stages" actually refer to the stages one goes through when one learns that it is oneself that is dying. Very apropos for the owners and staff of Florent, indeed.
That's a shame. I hope all the real estate people are happy when the city is 100% rich boring assholes.
New York somehow wished this on itself. In a desperate fight to always be in the limelight, to be the "it" city (after Seattle and SF) it is a victim of its own success.
>>>Forgotten NY guy has his job cut out for him. Kudos to him even as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Your webmaster was at Florent just a couple weeks ago, and tomorrow will be at the Cheyenne, in the rain, at 6:30 PM for a last photo shoot and a last meal, if any ForgottenFans want to join me.
I mean a last meal THERE.
www.forgotten-ny.com
lets stop the lies. the landlord wanted 18,000 a month not 50,000 a month. her father started the original RanL many years before florent the women haters give it a break to this nice woman who has made a childrens menu that is very reasonble in addition to the good adult fare ps florent the scum sabotaged the gas lines before leaving that we all know how dangerous this is .he also didn't pay his bills on time and did damage to the property
ps Florent was using camp like cookers the last couple weeks of his bs